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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25714006">Tohubohu</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/acris_kerd/pseuds/acris_kerd'>acris_kerd</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Legend of Zelda &amp; Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Blood and Violence, Character Study, Enemies, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Link (Legend of Zelda) Needs a Hug, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Schrödinger's Termina, Selectively Mute Link (Legend of Zelda), no beta; we die like men</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 10:07:23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>30,900</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25714006</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/acris_kerd/pseuds/acris_kerd</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After the events of Ocarina of Time, Ganondorf is cast into a special hell called Termina. Then the moon starts falling, a dangerous mask is playing games, and time loses all meaning. Worst of all, Link shows up to stop it.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>37</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>108</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Oh boy, first story! Summary is kinda lackluster, but oh well! I mean this is basically just forcing Ganon and Link to work together in Majora's Mask, so...not much more needs to be said than that. I like forcing enemies into unpleasant situations and seeing what they do.</p><p>Also, this story is a bit of a test as I figure out how to function on Ao3. I'll try to post a chapter a week, but I've only got 6 chapters written so far. After that, who knows what will happen. I bet the updates will be more sporadic, though. Shocker. I also haven't played through Majora's Mask in a while, and I have ZERO time to do so now. I'm just gonna wing it and hope I don't miss anything! I'm determined to see this story to the end. Constructive criticism is always welcome.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>If <em>ever</em> a land existed as ugly as Hyrule was beautiful, as begrimed as those distant fair lands were ennobled…it had to be Termina.</p>
<p>            Ganondorf puffed an acrid smelling smoke from the hewn pipe resting at his lips. The usual damp, muggy swamp air plastered itself to his skin like a sticky veneer. Insects swarmed and a myriad of creatures croaked and squawked in the surrounding marshlands. Another drag pulled the bitter weed into his mouth, exhaled with the lassitude of a dragon having outlived his legacy. The Southern Swamp was a wretched place. Never was there a break in the humidity, in the warm, muggy air that hung with a wet heaviness. He could taste it in his lungs with every inhale, that swamp water with all its decaying filth. It was such a far cry from the blazing heat of his old desert that he often found himself longing for the unforgiving sands. If he was destined to live in some wasteland or another, he’d take the Gerudo desert over Termina’s Southern Swamp any day.</p>
<p>            Destiny had not granted him a choice in either matter, though. He’d been dealt the hand he was given, and at this point, it was punishment. Punishment for failing to acquire his true destiny, for losing the power of the Goddesses right when he so nearly had it in his grasp…</p>
<p>            Ganondorf spat embittered saliva to the mossy ground, dragging on the last of the pipe. Thinking of events long past never did his mood much good, but still they plagued his mind, like the black flies and mosquitos of this damp hell. He couldn’t swat them away with any measure of success. Haunting memories of those two damn Hylians mocked him day and night. He’d been so close…so close to obtaining the true power of the Triforce…and now he had <em>nothing.</em></p>
<p>Ganondorf glanced down at the empty mark on his hand. It was faded like an old tattoo, no longer possessing the power to glow or resonate. He wasn’t even sure if he still carried the Triforce of Power, or if this mark was just a lingering scar, another mockery to all he had lost. Ganondorf looked away with a disgusted sneer, feeling the anger and hate swirl comfortably in his gut. The Goddesses had seen fit to take everything away from him, despite granting him their power in the first place. They were fickle beings, alluring, but wrathful. Vengeful, even. Termina was a land devoid of all magic, not just the power of the Triforce. He was cursed to rot as a mortal man, not even granted the solace of his familiar desert sorcery.</p>
<p>            Anger rose swiftly inside him, rearing up like a caged beast with nowhere to go. It burned at his insides, exhausting his energies and going completely unnoticed by the surrounding marshlands. He could do nothing but rage in solitude, until the weight of it left nothing but bitter acceptance. It was a regular volatility that plagued him, spurred by memories that wouldn’t cease, in a land cursed to mock and deride him by merely existing. It was an especially cruel mockery, too. For all the incessant buzzing and humming around him, there was not a soul to be seen in the swamp lands, aside, of course, from the painfully familiar witches who lived in the nearby tower.</p>
<p>            They rarely came out of their shelter, comfortable inside darkened walls where no insects pestered their frail skin. Even this was a mockery, as his Mothers similarly kept themselves deep in the catacombs of the Gerudo Fortress, escaping both watchful eyes and searing winds. But these witches were not his Mothers. They weren’t even proper witches. Twinrova would be appalled at the nerve of this land to paint their double in such a lowly light, as swampland herbalists who ran a boating tour shop on the side. It was almost offensive enough to stroke the line of humor. Never-the-less, these supposed witches in Termina carried his Mother’s faces, and because of that alone, Ganondorf resigned himself to this wretched landscape.</p>
<p>            It hadn’t taken long for the resident mockeries to warm up to him, devoid as they were of both company and assistance. They now relied on Ganondorf to attend to all matters of external import, fetching potion ingredients, fixing tour boats, running errands to Clock Town, etcetera. It was a monotonous life, abasing and enervated of his former glory, and yet another hollow mockery of how he lived before being cursed to this bastardized land. He was sure, somewhere, the Goddesses continued to laugh at him. But the ages of Koume and Kotake were no magical feat here, and with every passing year, they grew more frail and closer to death. The same, unfortunately, could not be said for himself. He’d long since resolved to pass the time assisting these painful reminders of a more comforting time, before they too were gone and taken from him. Then, perhaps, he’d work up a plan to take control of the man-hating pirates in the Great Bay, the rag-tag group of women who looked so like his old tribe but completely lacked their dignity and finesse. Attempting to draw comparisons between them and the true Gerudo was almost insulting.</p>
<p>            The pipe ran out. Ganondorf emptied it to the ground, tapping the bowl against the corner of his dwelling. It was little more than a shack, though carefully built with undeniable craftsmanship. Still, ornamented or not, a wooden abode with barely three rooms still counted as little more than a shack in his book. The building served its purpose, however. It kept out the wet and the bugs and it did not invite visitors, tucked away in the thickets as it were. It also gave him a place to rest his head until the Goddesses decided to dump him in a different hell, or until his rage and hate became a wieldable force on its own, reaching out to powerful mages in other worlds like a tempting miasma until he could infect their own workings and escape. Whichever came first.</p>
<p>            The twilight sky began to shift more earnestly into darkness. Ganondorf tucked the pipe away, thinking about a trip to Clock town that still needed to be done. Koume and Kotake would badger him ceaselessly if he didn’t take care of it tomorrow. He turned to his morose hut, pausing to stare up at the moon that hung in Termina’s sky. It’s hollow, anguished face seemed closer, more threatening lately, making him think of the whispered hysteria that was beginning to travel Clock Town’s gossip circles. It’d all seemed like nonsensical conspiracy when he first heard it, but tonight, the moon did seem just slightly bigger than it should. Slightly closer. Perhaps it was just the illusionary haze of swamp gas.</p>
<p>            Nothing remotely as interesting as the moon falling was bound to happen in Termina.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>            The next morning brought something distinctly unsettling, but Ganondorf couldn’t place its source.</p>
<p>            He woke with the usual placid emptiness, coupled with stiff bones that creaked out of a swamp-grass mattress. Nothing seemed amiss except for the lingering sense of déjà vu, and something else in the air that felt distinctly like a portent of doom. Yet even as he tried to focus on it, the feeling slipped away, becoming a whisper of a thought. Perhaps he was finally starting to go mad.</p>
<p>            Ganondorf heaved a deep sigh, rubbing a tired hand over his face. The stink of the mattress turned his stomach, as it did every morning. Insects were buzzing and chirping loudly, as they’d been all night. Frogs still croaked as light returned to the sky. Nothing was amiss. Everything was as it’d always been, since the day he awoke in this cursed land. Ganondorf hoisted himself up before his thoughts could drag him down, moving on auto-pilot. A fire was quickly kindled, heating a kettle of purified water. Dried fish and foraged roots made up the bulk of his breakfast, cooked in a broth of various spices. It wasn’t completely terrible, but it lacked the heat and intensity of his familiar cuisine. He’d pick up something more substantial in Clock town.</p>
<p>            Leaving the hut brought the full force of Woodfall’s muggy air to bare. The more pungent stench of rot and mud filtered through his nose, causing Ganondorf’s lip to curl. He lit another pipe in response, surveying the humming bog and taking note of smoke curls rising beyond the trees. Koume and Kotake were awake and working, though for what substantial clientele he still wasn’t sure. Woodfall wasn’t exactly a tourist destination. Nevertheless, there was enough maintenance to keep him busy.</p>
<p>            With that vaguely dismal thought, he finished his pipe and retrieved a small rucksack from within the hut. Keeping the witches waiting would only encourage more tedious harassment.</p>
<p>            It was a short walk to their strangely shaped and more strangely colored hut. Massive vessels of fermenting potions wafted smells to compete with the surrounding swamp stench. Ganon appreciated the crystal clear water that encircled their raised hut, knowing it took them a substantial amount of effort to secure a clean and personal water source. Of course, he benefited from the business relationship by having regular access to their clean water as well, meaning he didn’t have to spend regular hours boiling dirty swamp water, or worse, coming into contact with the creeping levels of poison that seemed to be spreading from somewhere deep within the swamp itself. Likely the nervous Deku kingdom had propagated some variety of water plant that was now turning invasive and dangerous to any non-Deku. Luckily, it wasn’t his problem.</p>
<p>            “Aha! Finally! Slower than a chu-jelly, aren’t you!”</p>
<p>            “We thought you’d forgotten about us!”</p>
<p>            Ganondorf ducked into the small hut, delivering little more than a deadpanned stare to their tittering laughter. It was incredible how Termina could get everything wrong about his mothers, except for their exceptional nagging.</p>
<p>            “Is there anything else you need from Clock Town?” he asked, waiting for them to stop laughing at their own poor humor.</p>
<p>            “No! We still need you to gather more mushrooms from the forest!”</p>
<p>            “I’ll get them after I pick up the lumber.”</p>
<p>            “You were supposed to gather them yesterday!”</p>
<p>            “Well I didn’t.”</p>
<p>            “Had more pressing engagements, did you?”</p>
<p>            “Maybe I did.”</p>
<p>            The twin sisters erupted in laughter, as if his assertion was the funniest thing they’d ever heard. It was grating, and Ganon questioned for the millionth time why he continued helping these irritating imitations. His sentimental streak had to be his worst quality.</p>
<p>            “If that’s all, I’ll be going now.”</p>
<p>            He didn’t wait for their acknowledgement, turning out of the small doorway. Their cackling and cawing followed him down the ladder, fading in the distance as he left the small swamp clearing.</p>
<p>            It was a simple matter to pick his way through the marshy waters. Enough trips out of the swamp had taught him where the firmest ground sat and which parts of the swamp were most shallow. He swatted a few daring mosquitos as he trudged along, and a strange collection of moths that seemed prone to biting. Not soon enough, the elevated tourist trap tour was visible, complete with a ramshackle boat that desperately needed the new lumber he was picking up today. Ganondorf shook his head at the sad vessel, stopping suddenly when a new and unpleasant addition to the landscape caught his eye.</p>
<p>            In the far tunnel, the one that lead deeper into the swamp, a giant octork sat as if in guard. It gazed at him with large watery eyes, looking perfectly at home where it wasn’t supposed to be, located conveniently right along the tour boat path. Ganon wasn’t sure the piecemeal boat would survive a run-in with a monster that size. He also wasn’t sure what a monster that size was doing so close to the more populated area of the swamp.</p>
<p>            Monsters weren’t a new occurrence in Termina, but there were many whose habitat stayed far out of human sight. Perhaps the poisoned water had drawn it out. Ganon squinted at the water that lapped around the beast’s skin, noting its purple hue. Irritation settled firmly in his gut. Whatever was causing this disruption in the swamp, looked to be quickly becoming his problem. He could already hear Koume and Kotake demanding he dispose of the annoying creature, or worse, solve the issue of the poisoned water himself. If it at all involved conversing with the tiny Deku kingdom, his sentimental streak may well run out on them.</p>
<p>            Ganon glared once more at the rotund monster, which only stared balefully in return. To think, he once commanded beasts of this sort. He left the swamp with the familiar comfort of anger roiling in his gut, shouldering the rucksack more firmly and thinking of maybe taking a stop by the bar before venturing home.</p>
<p>            Any creature that tried to hinder his path to Clock Town was quickly and easily disposed of. There was no need for the double scimitars he once carried, instead utilizing a modest dirk concealed at the hip. Between his larger than average stature and generally intimidating disposition, the weapon was barely needed to deal with other, more human hindrances as well, whenever he’d come across them.</p>
<p>            Admittedly, that wasn’t often. People in Termina generally kept to themselves and seemed to exist in a state of such placidity that the meager forms of government in place were hardly necessary. Not that they were effective to begin with. At one time, he’d toyed with the idea of establishing his own rule over this land, unpleasant as it may be. Perhaps one day he would, but until then, the thought of ruling over a place like Termina when he once held Hyrule in his hands was too depressing to stomach.</p>
<p>            Clock Town soon loomed in the distance just as the sun was cresting toward mid-morning. The relative quiet of Termina field fell away as he approached the outer gates, giving way to the hustle and bustle of a harried town as he crossed under its East entrance. The guard gave him a cordial nod, which he ignored. It took a moment to remember they were preparing for their yearly Carnival of Time, though the festive atmosphere seemed significantly more strained than usual. People rushed around with anxious expressions, or else they wore the determined look of someone holding out against dismal odds. Small groups huddled in clustered whispers here and there, looking afraid and occasionally glancing at the sky. Ganon followed their stares and felt a stir of surprise, recalling the more alarming rumors that had been circulating and witnessing their confirmation.</p>
<p>            The moon was definitely too close.</p>
<p>            It hung in the sky with the same unnatural glower, looking down on all of Termina with something between hate and agony. It was the most unsettling part in all of Termina, and Ganon had thought the Goddesses placed it there to reflect his own inner turmoil day in and day out. The moon never left the sky, even as the sun rose and fell. It hung like a stagnant orb, watching, a miserable sentry to all. Now it was undeniably closer, much closer, than it had been yesterday. The glow in its eyes seemed more alive, more angry. Was this the latest cruel trick by the Goddesses to further confound his existence? But to what end? He couldn’t care less if the moon crashed into Termina and wiped out every last miserable creature in this land. He would persist, as he always did, in some form or another.</p>
<p>            “Have you heard the rumors then?” The guard spoke up behind him, catching his pensive stare. Ganon didn’t respond, but that didn’t deter the smaller man.</p>
<p>            “They say it’s gonna come down on the night of the carnival, in just three days…half the town wants to leave, but the other half wants to stay.”</p>
<p>            Ganondorf briefly wondered where the first half would go. To his best knowledge, there was no way to leave Termina. Perhaps that only held true for him, though. He wasn’t privy to how extensive the illusion of this divinely curated world went, or how much autonomy its characters had.</p>
<p>            “…I just wish there was someone who could stop this.” He man sighed heavily, watching as a couple young children ran by.</p>
<p>            Ganon hummed carelessly and moved on.</p>
<p>            Retrieving the lumber from Clock Town’s construction crew was more difficult than it should have been. He had to wait through three conversations of workers not knowing where the shipment was and lamenting the crashing moon before finally getting in touch with the foreman, who was decidedly against leaving town.</p>
<p>            “All these nonsense rumors about a moon falling aren’t going to sway me!” he damn near spat, speaking to Ganondorf as though he were a comrade in his line of thought. “These townspeople get skittish at the slightest hint of danger, but I ain’t no coward! My great grandfather fought in the Ikana wars you know!”</p>
<p>            “Inspiring. Where is the lumber I ordered?”</p>
<p>            By Hylia, he was already weary with whatever charade the Goddesses were putting on. Was it not cruel enough to leave him here to rot? Did they have to add their own brand of calamity drama as well? It wasn’t even particularly creative. Perhaps they thought he’d get as agitated as the townsfolk by the idea of the moon crashing to Termina. Maybe they imagined he’d try to do something about it, as if there was anything he <em>could </em>do. They’d already taken his power, his dignity. He refused to play into their games, to be another pawn for their entertainment. And, more importantly, he hated Termina. Watching the moon crash into this carnival house hell was quite possibly the most enticing idea he could think of.</p>
<p>            Shouldering his bitterness, he resolved to ignore what was apparently inevitable, deciding to definitely stop at the bar before returning to Woodfall swamp.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>            It was past early evening when he finally returned from Clock Town, towing a small order of lumber on a skid behind him. His rucksack was full of better cooking ingredients and finer alcohols. He had every intention of sending off Termina with the best cuisine it could provide, which unfortunately wasn’t much. The swamp welcomed him back with attacking wolfos, bats, and chu-jellies. There was that obnoxious man floating from a balloon too. Ganon did not make eye contact, which wasn’t difficult given the other’s twenty foot elevation.</p>
<p>            Upon returning to the tourist trap, he found the giant octork still in place, but the boat, curiously, was not. It wasn’t being held on the bank either, an unspoken request that Ganon do the work of patching the boat himself, as he expected. It was missing from the entire area, and he could only surmise that some poor ignorant fool decided to try taking a tour despite the fact that there were giant monsters in the water, and that the boat itself was barely functional. Perhaps Koume hadn’t told them about that part.</p>
<p>            Ganon blew out a frustrated sigh, envisioning the boat broken to pieces around the maw of a giant octork. Now he’d have to build a whole new boat instead of just patching it, which would require significantly more lumber. Luckily, the moon was crashing in three days, so he likely wouldn’t have time. It was a slightly more uplifting thought, and he carried it with him as he dumped the lumber by an old, decrepit owl statue. Though after turning to trudge back to the witch’s potion shop, he paused and looked back to the statue, narrowing his eyes. He could have sworn the thing previously had its wings folded, but now they were spread wide, as if in flight. …Perhaps he’d never taken the time to get a good look at it.</p>
<p>            The strange, unsettled feeling he’d woken up with returned, creeping over his shoulders without explanation. Ganon glared at the ancient statue for a moment longer before walking away, chalking up the inconsistency to Termina’s madness and wishing the moon would fall faster. Such thoughts did not dissuade the lingering, acrid taste of an ill-omen though.</p>
<p>            “Where have you been!?”</p>
<p>            Kotake’s shrill voice cut through the air more sharply than the stench of a fresh potion ferment.</p>
<p>            “Fetching your lumber. Where’s the boat?”</p>
<p>            “Always so grumpy, aren’t you?” The old witch tittered. “Maybe we should hire the nice, quiet boy who was kind enough to help my dear sister this afternoon while you were off gallivanting through town!”</p>
<p>            There were a number of things to address within that sentence, but Ganon focused on the most important one.</p>
<p>            “You don’t pay me to help you.”</p>
<p>            “Hmm!” Kotake sniffed. “Well you never asked! Here I thought you liked us!”</p>
<p>            “Bold of you to assume such a thing.”</p>
<p>            “Pah! Aren’t you going to ask about what happened to Koume?”</p>
<p>            “I’m sure you’ll tell me regardless.”</p>
<p>            “She was attacked by that wretched Skullkid while picking the mushrooms you never collected!”</p>
<p>            “…I told you I’d get them this evening.”</p>
<p>            He didn’t hear what Kotake said in response, thinking back on the malignant whispers he’d heard all day about this new trickster wrecking havoc in Termina. It wasn’t just the moon playing up a dramatic end. Apparently there was a new character the Goddesses had seen fit to spin up as well, one that came from the forests of Hyrule. But why? To harass the denizens of their own created world? The narrative he’d assumed was quickly unraveling as things made less and less sense. There was a chance this Skullkid was acting on his own will, that perhaps he’d even stumbled into this strange place, which meant Termina wasn’t, in fact, merely his own personal hell. And if those assumptions held true, if there was a way to let someone in…there was a way to get out.</p>
<p>            Ganon knew he was reaching out on quite a far limb with his thoughts, but it merely belied the desperation he was feeling to escape this miserable land. He’d never heard of the Skullkid in Termina until now, when the moon was suddenly falling, and there had never been a trace of any other such creature in Termina. Termina lacked the magic of Hyrule’s Lost Woods, that forbidden forest which swallowed up human children and kept them nestled forever under its leafy canopy.</p>
<p>            “Are you listening to me?” Kotake wailed, reaching out with a spoon and swatting him on the arm.</p>
<p>            Ganon flinched out of his thoughts, casting her a dry glare before wiping away the dregs of red potion from his tunic.</p>
<p>            “Is Koume injured? I’ve heard some near outlandish tales about what this Skullkid is capable of.”</p>
<p>            “I told you, she’s fine! Left for the boat shop to give that nice boy a free tour ride!”</p>
<p>            “Hm. I suspect not much will be left of him.” Ganon drawled, about to fiddle with something on a shelf and backing away when Kotake raised her spoon again. “There are big octorks in the water now, and that boat sorely needed patched.”</p>
<p>            “I’m sure he’ll be fine.” Kotake waved a hand. “He had a sword and shield on him. Looked perfectly capable of handling those monsters.”</p>
<p>            “If you insist.” Ganon replied doubtfully.</p>
<p>            Kotake shrugged, not seeming to care about the unspoken implication that they’d just delivered the beasts a snack.</p>
<p>            “I’ll have to get more lumber to replace the boat, but the moon is supposed to fall in three days, so we’ll likely be dead by then.”</p>
<p>            Kotake immediately cackled in laughter.</p>
<p>            “So you <em>do </em>have a sense of humor! Such a relief!”</p>
<p>            “Did Koume happen to catch where the Skullkid might be going next?”</p>
<p>            “No! She was busy being crippled!”</p>
<p>            Ganon could tell there was nothing more to be gleaned from talking to her. He quickly wrapped up the conversation with a brusque good-bye, ignoring the grumbling that followed him out the door. With his errands done and any more chores taken care of by the impatience of his addled not-Mothers, he resigned himself to another droll night in the swamp, staring at the moon, thinking about the trouble-making Skullkid, and wondering if it might be an occasion worth investigating after all.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>            Morning came with another sense of foreboding, likely brought on by the fact that the moon was significantly closer than it had been the previous night. How anyone in Clock Town could delude themselves into thinking the moon wasn’t falling was beyond him. All you had to do was look at the sky with half a brain.</p>
<p>            After breakfast, Ganon pulled on sturdier travel clothes, having decided in the depth of the night to be a little more proactive during Termina’s final three days. Or two days, now, if the moon was any indication. He strapped an extra weapon on and tied a few more supplies to his belt, leaving the swamp with an unexpected lightness in his step. It occurred to him that it might be the last time he’d have to trudge through these murky, smelly waters, or wake to the incessant buzzing of biting insects.</p>
<p>Such thoughts left him feeling downright cheery. Not even the curious sight of the boat returned to the tour dock, intact, and the missing big octorok could detract his thoughts. Kotake’s assumption on the strange traveler had been right, apparently. Ganon did take a moment to further inspect the boat, however, eyebrows raising at the hasty patchwork done with what looked like scraped bark and the heavy, sword-hewn stakes lashed to the bow of the vessel, covered in dried octorok blood. Clearly this strange kid was as industrious as he was capable.</p>
<p>            Ganon had more pressing concerns to attend to, though, with a fatal clock that was ticking. He left Woodfall Swamp without a backward glance, fully content to never see it again be it due to death or escape.</p>
<p>            His trek to Clock Town was as uneventful as the day previous, but the people in town were at least twice as agitated. Any rumors as to the whereabouts of the Skullkid where much more difficult to find than the many grievances people seemed to think Ganon cared to hear about. Some, it seemed, were feeling a little shaken in their faith that the moon would stay aloft. Others were resigned to an inevitable fate, lamenting that it was already too late to leave. When questioned on where they would go if they could, Ganon could never get a straight answer.</p>
<p>            It wasn’t until he took a well-deserved break at the local bar that he caught a promising lead as to where he might find the Skullkid, or at least, a lead to someone else who might know. That took him back out into Termina field, where he noted the sun was higher in the sky than he liked, already past the crest of mid-afternoon. In the distance, the strange blue dome housing the land’s observatory stuck out like an over-ripe blueberry. A small fence was erected around the structure, likely to keep people out, but it took little effort to step over. Ganon knocked loudly on the outside door, his knuckles rapping more insistently as he went unanswered. He knew the old man, Professor Shikashi, had to be in there. He supposedly never left the tower.</p>
<p>            “What do you want? I’m very busy!” A wheezy voice finally shouted from behind the door.</p>
<p>            “I’m looking for the Skullkid.”</p>
<p>            “Well he’s not here! Now go away!”</p>
<p>            Ganondorf grit his teeth. He hated talking to people. There were so many more effective ways to get what you wanted out of a person, and this old man might push him to that limit.</p>
<p>            “You are my only lead to the imp’s whereabouts. I’m not leaving until you give me more to go on.” The Gerudo responded in a steely voice, the kind that didn’t leave room for argument.</p>
<p>            There was a long stretch of quiet as the old man thought hard about his next move. It wouldn’t be difficult for Ganon to bust down the door and more insistently demand cooperation, but such things would take time, which was now an exhaustible resource. Finally, after his patience was nearing its end, the handle on the door turned and a metallic creak preceded the suspicious stare of Professor Shikashi.</p>
<p>            “…I don’t know where he is. He accosted me yesterday and threatened to break my instruments and steal my moon’s tear, but I haven’t seen him since.”</p>
<p>            “Moon’s tear?”</p>
<p>            “Yes. A rare, crystalline stone that falls from the moon. It has very curious properties and-“</p>
<p>            “I don’t need a science lesson, I need more information on the Skullkid. Perhaps you haven’t noticed, but the moon is dangerously close, almost like it’s falling.”</p>
<p>            “Well of course I’ve noticed! I’m an astronomer!” The indignity of Ganon’s sarcasm was more potent that the man’s suspicions, and he opened the door wider to show his affront.</p>
<p>            “Is there nothing more you can tell me about the Skullkid?” Ganon didn’t like the hint of desperation behind his question, but it couldn’t be helped.</p>
<p>            Shikashi glared at the offense having been so clearly ignored, but nevertheless, he took a step back from the door way.</p>
<p>            “If it helps, you could try peering through my telescope to find him. As long as you promise to leave right after!”</p>
<p>            It was a thin idea, one that Ganon wouldn’t have bothered with had he <em>any </em>other options. The notion that he would just happen to catch a glimpse of the Skullkid with the hulking telescope seemed ridiculous, but he supposed it couldn’t hurt to try. Wordlessly, he stooped to enter the tiny observatory, silently cursing all the low-clearance ceilings in Termina. Professor Shikashi gave him a significantly wide berth as he stepped up to the telescope platform, and Ganon didn’t miss the look of mistrust in his eyes. It was almost like being back in Hyrule and facing down a prejudiced Hylian. He ignored the other man, having to nearly sit on the floor to peep through the eyehole. It was horribly uncomfortable.</p>
<p>            As expected there was nearly nothing to see through the telescope. It was as though Shikashi expected him to spot the Skullkid hoping around the peaks of Snowhead mountain. The little imp could be absolutely anywhere. The idea that he’d just so happen to be somewhere this behemoth of a spyglass could see felt even more stupid from his crunched position on the floor. Still, he persisted, perhaps driven by his own desperate hope. He’d have nothing but the milk bar to go back to if this didn’t pan out.</p>
<p>            Ganon set his sights on the nearby tops of Clock town in a last effort to spot the little trickster. He wasn’t jumping around the rooftops as he expected, but just as Ganon was about to pull his eye away, a little movement at the edge of the scope brought all his doubts to a halt. He quickly focused the telescope to the top of Clock Tower, heart starting to race as he finally located his target.</p>
<p>            The Skullkid was there, strikingly clear through the telescope’s powerful lenses. He was doing a strange little dance, as though he were a puppet on strings. A small purple fairy was floating around him, wings lowered in apparent nervousness. Ganon watched with a benumbed intensity, immediately noticing an important detail about the imp that no one had seen fit to mention. His racing heart came to a stop when the creature suddenly stopped dancing and stared right at him, looking impossibly across acres of field and town, into his soul, through the eyes of a mask he’d only heard about in haunting legends.</p>
<p>            The imp was being wielded by Majora. Ganon’s stomach bottomed out as the implications of this development rapidly flittered through his mind, all while held in the captive, glowing stare of that cursed mask. Suddenly the fact that the moon was falling struck Ganon as perfectly reasonable, given what was at play in Termina.</p>
<p>The Skullkid looked up at the moon. Ganon quickly moved his telescope to follow his gaze, heart thudding in his chest. He half expected the powerful entity in the mask to bring the moon down faster, but instead, there was only a tiny blue droplet that fell from one of the moon’s anguished eyes. It gathered speed and crashed into the earth, conveniently right at the foot of the observatory. When Ganon focused the telescope back on the Skullkid, he was taken aback to see the creature behave with unexpected juvenility, shaking his rear at him and then bouncing away in laughter. Apparently Majora hadn’t completely taken over its host yet. Or perhaps it was just humoring the imp’s childish nature. Regardless, the threat the demon posed was still present, and time was now a more dire issue.</p>
<p>            “He was on the top of Clock Tower.” Ganon reported grimly as he pulled away from the telescope, frustrated that he couldn’t see where the malefic creature had bounced away to.</p>
<p>            “Hmm. Well the only way to get up there is through the Clock door that opens the night of the carnival.”</p>
<p>            “Of course.” Ganon mumbled, standing and stretching out the kinks that had gathered from sitting hunched on the floor.</p>
<p>            “Alright, you got what you came for. Now clear out! And don’t take that moon’s tear with you!”</p>
<p>            The once Gerudo king rolled his eyes, toying with the idea of doing exactly that to spite the irritating old man. He had more important things to worry about than being petty to insignificant fools, though. There was a new, much more powerful entity at play here, one that drew into question the very existence of Termina itself. Ganon had a sinking suspicion that if he couldn’t stop Majora from carrying out its destructive ends, his consciousness would in fact be swallowed up with all the other denizens of Termina, never to return in quite the same way again. There would always be an avatar for the Triforce of Power, but if he couldn’t escape Majora’s destruction, it might not be Ganondorf of the Gerudo Tribe. It might not even be human.</p>
<p>            Yes, things were significantly more dire now, and he had little more than twenty four hours to figure a way out of this powerful spirit’s trap.</p>
<p>            Ganon poured through his options as he returned to Clock town, but it wasn’t as though he had very many. Rendered powerless and without any semblance of a kingdom to back up his claims of inherent power, Ganon was little more than another fly on the wall to Majora. The best he could do was hope the faded mark on his hand had enough spark left to be of interest to the powerful spirit, and that he’d agree to spare Ganondorf in order to use the Triforce of Power for more destructive tendencies beyond Termina. How he’d escape the clutches of the mask itself was another issue, but he’d have to worry about that after the more pressing threat of the moon had passed. It was an incredibly weak plan, one in which Ganon himself didn’t see much guarantee for success…but what else could he do?</p>
<p>            He mulled all of this over a strong drink in the cool shadow’s of Clock town’s bar. His thoughts became increasingly bitter as he planned how to debase himself and give up his dignity to be used by a demon spirit he might once have been able to command. It progressively became clear why the Goddesses had dumped him in this world, a world that might not be constructed by them, but in fact, may be curated by the little imp himself. Ganon wasn’t sure how the Skullkid could know of faces as distant to the lost woods as those of his Mothers in the Gerudo Desert, but perhaps that was part of Majora’s magic, to be able to reach beyond the experiences of its host to pull details from worlds beyond. Regardless, once Termina was annihilated he too would be erased from existence, just as the Goddesses had likely foreseen. No need to hold him in a sacred realm prison when they could just use another force to wipe his memory from reality. The Goddesses were even more cruel than he’d initially realized.</p>
<p>            His glass creaked dangerously at he clenched his fingers around it. Ganon made an effort to relax his grip, roughly demanding another drink to cool the fury raging in his gut. The bar tender refilled his glass without making eye contact, visibly nervous around the large Gerudo. Ganon ignored him.</p>
<p>            At this point, there was little more to do than wait until the Carnival of Time would begin. Then he would scale the tower and go through the door Shikashi had mentioned, up to the top of the structure where he’d hopefully find the imp waiting to watch the moon fall. It was yet another weak plan, and Ganon was growing weary of such things. There was no guarantee the Skullkid would be there just as there was no guarantee Majora would give a damn about the potential power Ganon could offer him. Yet, there was little else he could do. He was powerless, even more so than he’d realized. It was a fact that settled uncomfortably close to misery in his gut. To distract from the inevitable, Ganondorf indulged in an expensive meal for dinner and more expensive company for the remainder of the night, utilizing a room at the town inn he’d already paid for. It was very late, or perhaps early, on the third and final day when he found himself alone and with little else to do but sleep. This too he indulged in, ignoring the telling tremors that quaked through his room as the moon inched ever closer.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>            When he awoke from a fitful sleep, he was disappointed to see it was only noon. He tried to find way to pass the time, seeking more indulgences that did little to quell the nervousness he couldn’t ignore. If he was unable to sway Majora, he would be lost forever. He often wondered if it were even possible to reason with the dangerous mask, as surely the Goddesses wouldn’t put him here if there were a chance to escape. Such defeatist thoughts would get him nowhere, however, so Ganon resolved to try as though there were a hope of success. He certainly had nothing to lose.</p>
<p>            Noon ticked over into evening and finally, evening gave way to dusk. Ganon idled near the Clock tower, mulling over his pitch to Majora for the millionth time and picking through his dinner. He already had the path up to the Clock door figured out, thankful for his larger stature now. It would be simple to climb to the upper platform and then make his way to the top. The people of Clock town ignored him as they continued to bustle around, a thread of real excitement in the air as the start of the festival ticked closer. It seemed most had accepted their fate, whatever it may be, and were determined to have one last night of fun. Ganon suspected the flowing drinks of alcohol significantly helped in that endeavor. The moon was frighteningly close, almost filling up the sky. Its grotesque, pained snarl was haunting, giving the Carnival a threatening atmosphere. There was no denying this would be Termina’s last night.</p>
<p>            Finally, as the darkness reached its deepest point, fireworks began to ignite the sky with showers of red and white. The people of Clock Town cheered in an off-key mockery of genuine enjoyment, sounding almost like a wail. But still, smiles and festive masks were out in-mass. Clock Tower’s giant pendulum creaked ominously before falling with a thundering boom, like a gavel delivering a final sentence, or maybe more like an axe at a chopping block. The people wailed and cheered again, dancing with a maddening frivolity. Ganon waded through the hysteria as the door he’d been told about opened. He was again ignored at he scaled the tower, taking a moment to sneer down at the pitiful fools who did nothing to stop their fate. Even if his chances were slim, Ganon would never let himself surrender to death so easily.</p>
<p>            The sounds of forced merriment faded slightly as he climbed the dark stairway. It didn’t take long to reach the top, nor to push open the wooden door that revealed, with some measure of surprise, exactly who he’d been searching for. The moon was more overwhelming from this place, with the tiny imp staring up at it as though in benediction. The harrowed, unsettling itch he’d felt the past few days ticked higher at the sight of Majora’s horns sticking out past the imp’s head. Ganon knew where the real danger was here, and it seemed Majora was not unaware of his presence either. In fact, as the Skullkid turned around languidly, it almost seemed like he was waiting for him. Or waiting for someone, at least.</p>
<p>            “Hey! You’re not the kid I was playing with!”</p>
<p>            Ganon maintained a calm exterior, absorbing the Skullkid’s style of behavior. Clearly he still had some measure of control, or presence of mind. He would have to be careful to find a way of addressing Majora through the puppet he wore.</p>
<p>            “No…” He responded coolly. “I’m someone new. Are you playing a game?”</p>
<p>            “Yeah, but I don’t play with <em>grown-ups</em>. I hate grown-ups!”</p>
<p>            “I’m not like other grown-ups.” Ganon said carefully, hoping Majora was listening and that there was something of the Triforce within him to sense. “I like to play games too. The kind you like to play.”</p>
<p>            Skullkid floated down, tittering in a wild laughter that sounded like it went through a few different dimensions.</p>
<p>            “Do you?” he asked, his voice growing meaner, less child-like. “Do you like to play games, Ganondorf?”</p>
<p>            He held a calm exterior, not flinching at the way this spirit was able to pick out his name. Majora was clearly listening, maybe even doing the talking. He stayed quiet for a moment, mulling over his next approach.</p>
<p>            “I used to play a lot of games. Powerful games. But some people didn’t like them, so they trapped me and cast me away.”</p>
<p>            “…My friends left me too.” The Skullkid spoke now, shaking angrily. Ganon didn’t point out the clear difference in their experiences. He’d certainly never said the people who cast him out were his friends, but if that was the assumption the Skullkid needed to make in order to relate, Ganon would let him.</p>
<p>            “They ran away and tried to get rid of me!” His voice warped again, turning dark. The purple fairy that had been silently floating at his side cowered in fear, sensing the power of Majora flare up within a single sentence.</p>
<p>            “But nothing lasts forever, does it, Ganondorf? Not even imprisonment. Maybe not even death.”</p>
<p>            The Skullkid gave another one of his wild laughs. It was disorienting. Ganon couldn’t figure out which entity was in control when he did that.</p>
<p>            “So lets play a game!” That had to be the Skullkid, but there was an undercurrent of cruelty in his tone that didn’t seem to fit right.</p>
<p>            “…What kind of game?”</p>
<p>            “The dying kind!” Skullkid, or Majora, laughed as though the question were the silliest thing they’d ever heard. Ganon felt his gut clench, hope turning cold.</p>
<p>            “I’ll drag down the moon,” Skullkid continued, floating back up and out of reach, “And you can see if your Goddesses left you with enough scraps of the Triforce to save your rotten grown-up hide!”</p>
<p>            His maddening laughter echoed with greater crescendo as he tipped backward and held his stomach, the mask rocking back and forth on his face as though it were laughing too. Ganon clenched his teeth hatefully, automatically willing energy to coalesce in his hands with the intent of knocking the arrogant imp out of the sky. But of course, though his memory could clearly call up how it felt to wield magic, there was nothing but disappointing emptiness in his hands. Majora laughed louder, and louder, suddenly contorting the Skullkid’s body up towards the moon and unleashing a deafening scream.</p>
<p>            Ganon’s eyes widened as power radiated from the tiny, trembling body high above. The moon gave an almighty shudder in the sky, hovering for a heartbeat, and then falling with visible speed. He was bringing the moon down <em>now. </em></p>
<p>            “No!” Ganon couldn’t help himself, glaring furiously at the cackling creature and pulling out his dirk.</p>
<p>            The action piqued Majora’s interest immediately. He stopped laughing, floating just a bit closer with an aggressive hunch to his puppets shoulder’s. Ganon still couldn’t figure out who was in control.</p>
<p>            “You think you can stop me too? <em>You?</em>”</p>
<p>            The threat behind the creatures word’s was immanent. Ganon wasn’t sure what he could, or would, do, when death for all was so close, but it seemed the Skullkid wasn’t concerned about that.</p>
<p>            “I’ll show you what happens to grown-ups who try to stop me! I’ll make you pay for being mean!”</p>
<p>            Ganon did not like the sound of that. The threat was vague and left entirely to the Skullkid’s imagination. Given the tales he’d heard about the imp’s vindictive nature, he was sure whatever he had planned wasn’t good. Before he could think about making a hasty retreat to die from the moon crashing someplace else, a blinding pain erupted behind his forehead. Visions of what once was the manifestation of his ultimate power, of a mighty boar fueled by malice and rage, flashed across his head. He saw more visions of the boar, their thundering roars turning into the squeals of pained piglets as a horrifying sensation began to disfigure his entire body. He was forced to his knees, listening to the wild cackles of Majora and the Skullkid as he writhed against full-body visions of screaming pigs.</p>
<p>            Then the world went dark. He felt like he was falling. The madness gripping his consciousness expected him to somehow fall <em>inside </em>himself, buried within his own body, but he heard his screams turn from animal squeals back into the deep bellow of his own voice. The cackles of the Skullkid fell away in the distance. The encompassing darkness opened up suddenly into a blinding white. He was still falling, falling in an endless white void of twisting, ticking clocks. A haunting melody echoed around him. Time itself seemed to be pulling on every cell in his body, a horribly uncomfortable sensation to which he had to close his eyes to endure. Then, without warning, it all stopped.</p>
<p>            Ganon wasn’t exactly aware of when it all stopped, but the realization came suddenly, and with it, a wild panic. He jumped up from his swamp-grass mattress, nearly hitting his head on a ceiling joist. Immediately, he looked down at his body, half expecting to see some horrific twisted version of a pig instead of his normal self. Everything was in place as it should be, though. No hooves, no quadruped body, and no squealing snout. A boneless sigh of relief sent him crumpling back to the itchy mattress, which he’d never been so happy to see. It took a few moments of deep breathing before he realized, truly realized, that he was back in the relative safety of his hut.</p>
<p>            Tentative, but curious investigation led him to see that it wasn’t the same hut he’d left two days prior. The food supplies he’d bought in Clock town with the lumber were gone, and things looked more lived-in than compared to when he left. Travel supplies were back in their original place, and his clothing was different than what he’d put on that morning. In fact, if his memory was correct, he was wearing the darker tunic and breeches he’d donned before going to Clock town to pick up the lumber. In a rush now, Ganon clamored over to his pantry, which was depressingly bare other than the dried fish and roots he’d already eaten three days ago. Instead they sat untouched on the shelf, as if he’d yet to consume them.</p>
<p>            A strange feeling began to steal over him, similar to the déjà vu he’d experienced three days ago. Ganon stepped outside and the feeling persisted, more strongly this time. Insects buzzed and ate at his skin as though nothing were amiss, and the reeds stood as tall and still in the damp, muggy air as they always had. Yet, something about it all was bizarrely familiar. He had a sneaking, impossible suspicion, one that was more a denial of reality than anything else. When he looked up and saw the moon far back up in the sky, he knew what had happened, but he needed more confirmation. Everything felt too surreal. Ganon looked over the tops of the trees, seeing smoke curl up into the air. Koume and Kotake were awake and working. He quickly made his way to their hut, helping himself into the tiny house more hastily than he meant to.</p>
<p>            “Aha! Finally! Slower than a chu-jelly, aren’t you!”</p>
<p>            “We thought you’d forgotten about us!”</p>
<p>            Ganon stared at the witches, his eyes too wide and his silence too stunned. He’d gone back in time. Somehow, he’d been cast back to when all of this madness had really started. Surely this wasn’t the Skullkid’s doing. Ganon felt very sure he was on the verge of being turned into a pig by the wretched little wood urchin. Just the thought of it nearly sent him into a blinding rage. He would find a way to make the little imp pay for that, <em>dearly. </em>In the meantime, he needed to figure out if there was yet another unknown player to this increasingly maddening doomsday scheme or if the Goddess of Time had simply taken pity on him. He sorely doubted that possibility. Regardless, he couldn’t count on time resetting itself again, and it was clear Majora had no interest in working with him. That left the mysterious identity of this time-controlling entity his only option, and really, his only hope.</p>
<p>            “Hey! Are you listening?”</p>
<p>            “What’s wrong with you? Do you need a potion?”</p>
<p>            “No.” Ganon replied distantly. “I’ll return later. Don’t pick those mushrooms, Koume.”</p>
<p>            He left immediately after that, just barely catching the boggled muttering of the addressed sister.</p>
<p>            “How did he know I was going to do that…?”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>            Ganon returned to his hut and lit a pipe, pacing in the grass around a small fire pit. He mulled over all the relevant details in his head, all the rumors, bits of gossip, and shreds of strange whispers he’d heard. There was nothing that might allude to a being powerful enough to manipulate time, nothing that could even give him the slightest <em>hint</em> of another’s such presence. The only things making waves in Termina were the falling moon and the Skullkid. Whoever else was at play, they clearly didn’t care for the spotlight.</p><p>            <em>“Hey! You’re not the kid I was playing with!”</em></p><p>            <em>“You think you can stop me too?” </em></p><p>            Despite the irrationality of it, Ganondorf had a dread-filled weight in his gut. He felt like he might know who this time-manipulating mystery could be, this kid who apparently had enough courage to stand up to a powerful entity like Majora. Surely it was nothing more than his own haunting projections. He allowed the rage of the idea to burn hot for a moment before shoving it away, focusing on the issue at hand and striving to leave the past where it belonged.</p><p>            When the pipe ran out, Ganondorf went back into the hut to eat the fish and roots, which tasted just as disappointing as before. He changed into sturdier travel wear and equipped a few extra supplies, again not sure if he’d be back in the swamp anytime soon. In all actuality, he wasn’t entirely sure where he’d be going or what his plan was, but anything had to be more productive than pacing and dwelling on embittering impossibilities in an itchy, smelly swamp.</p><p>            With everything packed, he made his way out of Woodfall. Everything was the same as before, though he hadn’t noted the finer details like he did now. The surreal feeling of déjà vu had yet to subside, and it only increased when he saw the giant octork back in the tour boat pathway. Ganon glared, continuing on his way to Clock Town.</p><p>            It was eerie how everything repeated itself exactly as before. The same guard gave him a cordial nod, the same people had no idea where his lumber was. Ganon wasn’t even sure why he bothered to pick it up, but it was a simple matter now to address the foreman and sign off for the shipment. Perhaps if he returned to the swamp he’d drop it off by the tour boat shop. His real mission became listening to circles of gossip more intently, trying to find details he’d overlooked before.</p><p>            Unfortunately, there was little to be gleaned. Everyone said the exact same thing as they had before. No one, not a single person, deviated in behavior from the original three days he’d experienced unless he asked new questions. No one remembered talking to him previously either. It was well past noon before Ganon finally gave up and decided to head back to his hut in the swamp, angry in defeat. There was nothing to be gained from the useless people of Clock Town. He did make sure to get more food before leaving, however, and alcohol.</p><p>            It was deeply disheartening to return to the swamp with absolutely nothing more to go on. All day he’d encountered people who said the same things, and with each self-same response, he felt more and more like a spectator to his own reality, alone and removed from what constituted normal life. The lack of control he had in Termina was more than just maddening, it gnawed at his weary bones like a cancer. He now had two days to figure out who might be behind his unexpected backwards hurtle through time, and he could only hope such an event wasn’t an anomaly. If it was, that meant he had two more days left before he was erased by Majora, He wasn’t sure which option was worse, being destroyed by Majora or reliving the same three days for an eternity.</p><p>            When the familiar sight of the boat tour shack came in, Ganon was so lost in thought he almost missed the first telling detail that deviated from the previous three days. Unlike the first time he’d returned with the load of lumber, the ramshackle boat was exactly where he expected it to be, hoisted up on the bank and waiting for him to patch. He stared at it for a long moment, brows furrowing. Surely it was nothing…but everyone else had failed to deviate from their behavior. They’d all, an entire town’s worth, followed the original three days as though scripted. Everyone but this mysterious, sword-wielding kid.</p><p>            <em>“Hey! You’re not the kid I was playing with!”</em></p><p>            Ganon narrowed his eyes, the previous dread in his gut growing stronger. It had to be a coincidence. The last sword-wielding brat he’d had to deal with was grown up by now. The idea of running into him <em>here</em>, of all places, was paranoid at best, and surely just a symptom of his own affecting memories.</p><p>            In fact, the more he thought about it, the more ridiculous it seemed. Ganondorf was sure the Hero was living an idyllic life of luxury, wherever the damned wretch was, probably still playing knight for that accursed Princess. There was no reason for him to get caught up in this madness, no reason for him to plague Ganon again other than an exceptionally cruel trick by the Goddesses, and surely they wouldn’t do that to their golden boy.</p><p>            Ganon grit his teeth as he dumped the lumber by the boat, soured thoughts further twisting his mood. Exhausting as the repetitive necessity was, he again sought to cast them away, trying to focus back on what was happening <em>now</em> rather than what happened in another world. The fact remained this mystery kid, who ever he was, was the only person in Termina who had acted out of accordance with the original three days. Either it was a singular fluke, or there was something significant behind it. Ganon knew he had to find—</p><p>            His thoughts came to an abrupt halt, remembering who had mentioned this kid to him in the first place. He smacked a hand to his face, recalling with irritation how <em>everyone </em>had failed to deviate from their previous behavior. It would be just like Koume to ignore a clear and reasonable demand all to do whatever she wanted instead, and therefore end up crippled by the Skullkid in the woods <em>again</em>. Ganon rolled his eyes, but ventured back into the swamp, hoping maybe to catch sight of the kid somewhere along the way.</p><p>            When he arrived at the witch’s hut, he found a frantic and frazzled Kotake instead.</p><p>            “There you are!” She jumped up, wringing her hands nervously. “What took you so long? I need your help! Koume went into the woods and hasn’t returned!”</p><p>            “I thought I told her not to pick those mushrooms.”</p><p>            “I thought we told you to gather them yesterday!” she snapped back shrilly, clearly not in the mood for Ganon’s attitude.</p><p>            He thinned his lips in a line, breathing out slowly so as not to explode on the frail old woman. She was utterly devoted to her sister, just as his own Mother’s had been. He couldn’t begrudge her that.</p><p>            “I’ll go and find her.” He replied, turning to leave before Kotake could respond with something bossy and likely rude. Devoted to each other or not, they were ungrateful witches all the same.</p><p>            “Damn you Koume…” Ganon muttered as he climbed down from the hut and wandered into the more dangerous wood, feeling irritated that this mystery kid hadn’t seen fit to come back and help his stubborn imitation of a Mother this time around.</p><p>            The insects weren’t as thick under the cover of trees, but the light was noticeably darker and the air more humid. Ganon swatted large leafy plant out of the way, listening intently for the aggressive croaks of a Snapper. They were large, and very territorial creatures. It was a marvel Koume had managed to avoid getting crippled by one of the violent, oversized turtles and instead fell victim to the Skullkid, though perhaps, having lived in the swamp for so long, she was better at avoiding its natural dangers.</p><p>            A rustling in the tall reeds made Ganon pause, his dirk raised threateningly. From within the gloom, a pair of wide, watery eyes peered at him, looking nervous and flighty. Ganon could just barely make out the shape of its small body, noting only what he cared about, that the creature wasn’t a threat. He lowered his weapon and moved on, ignoring the small animal as it shuffled away, anxious calls from what was apparently a monkey growing distant.</p><p>            The woods grew dimmer as he ventured ever deeper, avoiding territorial croaks and having to dodge past a number of Snappers that snuck up on him anyway. Mud squelched around his boots as the evening wore on, sweat sticking uncomfortably under his clothes. He tried finding the mushrooms first, hoping to find Koume too, but apparently she’d wandered deeper than anticipated to gather them. His irritation and frustration mounted as this endeavor took longer and longer. Ganon wasn’t sure why he bothered, really. He didn’t have time to find stubborn old hags who couldn’t listen to a single bit of sound advice. It was too late now, though. He was deep enough in the swamp that the setting sun barely filtered through. At this rate, he might get lost himself trying to return without a more knowledgeable guide. It was fairly simple to navigate the swamp in the light of day, but at night, the dangers grew more severe, and getting lost was almost assured if one hadn’t spent most of their life in Woodfall.</p><p>            Just as the beginning tickle of irate anxiety began to unfurl in response to the failing light, Ganon heard a familiar wailing call in the gloom beyond. Relief barely assuaged his anger, but at least he wouldn’t have to spend the night exposed in this miserable bog. Ganon followed Koume’s cries for help, finding her in a small clearing with a handful of monkey’s curiously hopping about. The large man shooed them off, kneeling down to silence the wailing woman who had yet to notice him.</p><p>            “Koume. Koume!” Ganon snapped, raising his voice slightly.</p><p>            The old woman gave a start, her watery eyes blinking up at him as the cries came to a sudden halt.</p><p>            “You!” She yelled.</p><p>            “Yes, me. Let me guess…you were attacked by the Skullkid?”</p><p>            “I-how did you know that?” Her brows furrowed suspiciously, voice surprisingly strong despite having been wailing in such apparent agony moments ago.</p><p>           “Been hearing things about him all over Clock Town. I told you not to pick those mushrooms.”</p><p>            “Well <em>I </em>told you to get them-“</p><p>            “Yes, yes, I know. This is all my fault. Here, do you want a red potion or not?”</p><p>            Ganondorf rummaged through his bag and pulled out a bottle filled to the brim with Koume’s own ruby brew. She lit up at the sight of it, immediately snatching it out of his hands and gulping it down loudly. In moments, the potent medicine worked its magic. Or near magic, at least. Koume was able to stand and walk comfortably as her previous wounds stitched together, leaving her alive and well to complain another day. Naturally, Ganon didn’t get so much as a thank you.</p><p>            “That hit the spot!” She cawed.</p><p>            Koume snapped her fingers. Amidst the theatrical puff of smoke that followed, she pulled an old, small broom out from under her robes and quickly clamored on. By the time the smoke dissipated, she was sitting on the levitating stick of wood with a boldly self-congratulatory smile. Ganon wasn’t fooled. This also wasn’t magic. He knew Koume and Kotake hunted fairies and used them in a rather savage manner to make their broomsticks levitate. Eventually the effect would wear off and they’d have to find more fairies. It essentially amounted to a macabre parlor trick all to indulge their fantasies of true witchcraft, and, in Ganon’s opinion, was a piss-poor use of a fairy. Still, he held his tongue and played the part of being mildly impressed. It was the best he could manage.</p><p>            Koume sniffed in response, likely looking for more fanfare, but she knew Ganon wasn’t a good source for such nonsense. Instead she began to lead him out of the swamp, finally. With her careful guidance, they made it out in less than half the time it took Ganon to find her.</p><p>            “You didn’t happen to see a boy run through the woods, did you?” He asked as they approached the end of their unpleasant walk. “A boy with a sword and shield?”</p><p>            “A boy? Of course not! If I had I would have been out of that swamp forest hours ago!”</p><p>            Ganon hummed in response, not reacting to her cranky tone. To be fair, she wasn’t wrong, but that didn’t get him any closer to finding the elusive kid, so he didn’t bother pointing such things out. They parted ways at the base of her hut, though Koume felt compelled to yell something snarky at him before he left their clearing. He didn’t hear—or care—what it was, embroiled in his own thoughts.</p><p>            Ganon returned to his hut with the dismal weight of failure still firmly entrenched in his gut. Every time he thought he might be free of this swamp, he ended up back where he started. The sensation of failure was only moderately pacified by a warm meal. He was no closer to finding out why, or how, he’d traveled back in time and already the first day was over. The best lead he had was some kid who might have nothing to do with anything. Clearly he wasn’t in the swamp anymore. For all Ganon knew, the reason may have something to do with his own actions in Clock Town. Perhaps the people of Termina don’t deviate from their behavior, but he certainly could. All it would take was some small, insignificant action on his part to start a chain reaction, resulting in the absence of this mysterious kid. Nothing more noteworthy than that.</p><p>            He sighed, exhaling bitter smoke from his lungs. The familiar pipe in his hand was warm and welcoming, a habit he’d picked up soon after finding himself in Termina. It once helped settle his thoughts as the days wound down, but now, even helped along by the amber liquid swirling in a bottle beside him, he couldn’t dispel the pit of despair growing ever wider. He was running out of options, looking at either death or an insanity-inducing time loop. If only he’d managed to get his hands on the Triforce when he was so close…if only that damn <em>brat </em>hadn’t gotten in his way…</p><p>            Ganon dumped the pipe as age-old hate began to rise up again, but he was too weary to entertain his own ire. Tomorrow would be another day, another repetition, but perhaps also another chance to find answers. He tried hard to quell the heaviness of doubt that followed him into a fitful sleep.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p> </p><p>            The next day progressed exactly as successfully as the previous. It started out poorly, and quickly went nowhere. Ganon patched the boat in a last ditch effort to draw the strange kid near, but it didn’t seem to work. It seemed pointless to keep expecting something from nothing, so he decided to chalk the kid’s absence up to either coincidence or his own unintentional interference. The giant octork was still in place, but Ganon didn’t care enough to kill it, much to the vexation of Koume and Kotake. When the swamp held no more answers or leads, he left, feeling utterly hopeless and resentful about the whole matter.</p><p>            He didn’t have the energy to return to Clock Town yet, instead wandering the fields of Termina in a vain hope of stumbling across some answers. It was largely pathetic, and he took his frustrations out on any monster that happened to cross his path. Eventually he wandered back into Clock Town, half-heartedly speaking to citizens who had nothing worthwhile to offer. It wasn’t long before he was back in his familiar spot within the cool depths of the bar, not happy with how regular of an occurrence it’d become. The bartender didn’t know his name, but he knew his preferred drink without asking. It damn near qualified him a hopeless drunk, a painfully far cry from the powerful figure he once was, a shadow of the command and respect he’d once demanded so effortlessly.</p><p>            Ganon scowled, unbidden thoughts of who was at fault for such decay flashing across his mind’s eye <em>again</em>. If ever he could get those two Hylians back in his clutches he’d wring their tiny pale necks, even as a hopeless drunk. In near wild anger, struck by his own powerlessness, he thought of fighting Majora himself. Especially if the days were doomed to reset over and over, it simply meant he had as many attempts as needed to take out the powerful spirit. Even if something awful happened—like being turned into a pig—there was a chance such horrors might reset themselves after the three day cycle began once more. Possibly. Ganon narrowed his eyes and grumbled. He didn’t like making gambles on such weak chances, especially when it was his human form at stake.</p><p>            Deep down, and from a voice of derision, he knew the idea of fighting Majora was a hopeless one. If the legends held true, as all evidence seemed to support, the spirit was much more powerful than a near-mortal could ever contend with. Without his Triforce piece, and especially without his magic, it would be less of a battle and more of a slaughter. Fighting Majora on such dismal odds would be utterly foolish, and likely only result in a worse hell on his part. Ganon shuddered slightly at the harrowing memory of how close he’d come to suffering Majora’s wrath, silently thankful for the strange time travel that spared him such an awful fate.</p><p>            After two drinks, he left to find a room at the inn. The swamp held no answers, and the bottom of his glass was certainly doing him no favors either. Perhaps he would wait the remainder of the three days in town, observing what he could until time hopefully reset. Then he’d do the same thing at Snowhead mountain, then the Great Bay, and finally Ikana canyon. If answers wouldn’t present themselves, he’d hone his patience and observe until they could be found. Ganon stepped out into the bright and busy square, feeling a little more resolved and slightly less pathetic. Naturally, that was when everything went to hell.</p><p>            One second he was walking towards the inn, and in the next, he was falling, falling in that same endless void of white. Ticking clocks twisted and warped in a spiral, following him down into the bottom of nothing. That same haunting melody echoed into the deepest point of his eardrums, demanding recognition. It pulled painfully at his heart, which was pounding furiously as time twisted him back, back to a different point where he didn’t belong. Ganon grit his teeth to hold back a yell, wishing the sudden hurtle would <em>end</em>.</p><p>            And then it did. He woke up on his swamp-grass mattress far from Clock Town Inn, breathing wildly and shaking. Ganon sat up in a rush, looking around his hut with wild eyes. All of his travel supplies were back in place. The cupboards were bare except for the dried fish and roots. He was back at the beginning of Termina’s final three days…but it hadn’t happened at the night of the carnival. Time had reset, whimsically, in the middle of the cycle.</p><p>            He stood, mind racing. There was no apparent reason for what had happened. It broke precedent and followed no semblance of order or pattern. Either chaos was the law of the land, or someone was directly interfering. As far as Ganon was concerned, this served as confirmation for the latter. The time-warping effect on Termina must be controlled by an individual, someone with their own agenda.</p><p>            Someone he could therefore find.</p><p>            But why was <em>he</em> the only one not effected by time’s reset? Was there a connection between this time wielder and himself, or was it simply due to the fact of who he was, the once wielder of the Triforce of Power? Ganon dismissed the oddities. It would become apparent as soon as he could find this individual, and find him he would.</p><p>            Despite the disorientation of being thrown back in time with no warning, a fire was beginning to grow within the Gerudo’s chest, a feeling fierce and confident. It was invigorating the know he wasn’t simply victim to whatever was at play here in Termina, that there was someone he could hunt down and demand answers from. He’d suspected as much, but now it was nearly assured.</p><p>            The potential of this time-wielder’s ability was vivifying. Ganon wondered how much control they had…the possibilities were enormous, provided he could find a way to control the entity itself. He could do more than just escape Termina. He could go back to the destiny that was stolen from him, and set things right.</p><p>            Ganon forced himself to take a deep, calming breath. He was getting far ahead of himself, but it was hard to resist the temptation. For so long he’d languished in Termina, and now, it seemed he had more than just a chance to be free. Still, it would be tricky finding whoever was behind the reset. They had made themselves especially scarce, and clearly didn’t want to be fou—</p><p>            His thoughts came to a slow grinding halt. In the blink of an eye, he was back in the void of white, but rather than falling, he was standing amidst a circle of clocks. The clocks wobbled and ticked, slowing to a sluggish pace as a strange, disquieting tune played in a broken key. It only vaguely resembled the haunting melody heard in this strange void previously, but Ganon had a feeling they were connected.</p><p>            He had a hard time focusing and thinking about that, though, as whatever effect it all had on time itself became heavy and consuming. He stumbled where he stood, feeling dizzy and laggard. Time was slowing to a snail’s pace around him, ticking ever slower…</p><p>            Then it was over. The broken melody ended, and Ganon was back in his hut, standing exactly where he’d been, at the same point in time. Nothing seemed amiss, but despite this, Ganon could tell there was a significant change in the air. He had difficulty shaking the linger tendrils of that strange white void, unable to forget the way time had slowed. If that were any indication, time here in Termina had to have slowed down as well. Yet another demonstration of what this mysterious entity was capable of.</p><p>            His fire in his chest had yet to die down, even as the uncontrollable oddities around him grew stranger. Ganon felt confident he’d get the answers he was looking for soon enough, and then everything would start going his way. Termina would just be another bitter memory.</p><p>            He redressed himself in travel clothes, once more packing his rucksack and eating the disappointing breakfast. It didn’t take long to notice how significantly time had slowed, particularly when he stepped outside and the sun had still barely risen. No smoke curls rose above the tree tops from Koume and Kotake’s shop. Even the insects had yet to rise to their incessant, day-time hum. Ganon set his jaw, realizing how long the next three days would feel. He supposed it was better than the stress of constantly racing against the clock. At the very least, it would grant him plenty of opportunity to observe all he needed, to pick out any details that might give away this time-manipulator’s identity. Still, a begrudged sigh rumbled through his chest as he resigned himself to the tediousness of the task ahead, and began the wet, muddy walk out of the swamp.</p><p>            He planned on starting in Castle town. He didn’t much expect to find answers there, however, and as he came upon the boat tour shack, he slowed his pace, staring at the ramshackle boat as it bobbed in the water. Something tickled at the back of his mind, making him think of the kid who had deviated from the original three days.</p><p>            Maybe it was from all the excitement of time’s recent reset and subsequent slow, the discovery that there was undoubtedly a physical being causing these disruptions, but he suddenly had some misgivings about his own assessment regarding this kid. Aside from Ganon, he was the only one not sticking to the script, the only one disrupting his expectations… Another detail slipped into his quickening thoughts, eyes sliding over to the owl statue. Its wings were still spread wide in flight, though Ganon was <em>sure</em>, in the original three days, they had been folded away at this point in the cycle.</p><p>            Perhaps the swamp held more answers after all.      </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Link shows up next chapter, finally.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Link shows up and doesn't have a good time.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>            Not enthusiastically, Ganondorf decided to make himself comfortable in the miserable, muggy swamp. Three days spent here in a slowed time stream would surely be enough to either yield the answers he sought, or confirm there was nothing to be gained. No matter the outcome, he could finally, <em>definitively,</em> put this place behind him once these long three days were up. Aside from the beginning of every reset, of course, where apparently he was cursed to awaken on that damned mattress. Not for the first time, Ganon wished he weren’t so sentimental and had instead decided to settle in a far more comfortable location.</p><p>            No matter. He puffed at his pipe, settled comfortably in the brush as a smoldering fire burned herbs to keep insects away. The sun was high in the sky now, but it was still only the first day. Time had dredged on with aching slowness, already testing the limits of Ganon’s patience. He’d killed the giant octork out of sheer boredom. His trousers along the top edge of his boots were beginning to fray as the poisonous water ate at the fabric. Luckily his boots, reinforced with the hide of creatures that looked and functioned much like the dodongos back in Hyrule, were unscathed.</p><p>            He’d filled the remaining time wandering the swamp, trying to stay relatively out of sight as he mapped out a path to keep a careful watch on. The deeper areas of Woodfall were off limits thanks to the poison, so he could only hope whatever answers he intended to find would make their way out of the swamp through here, where tourists and the like would traverse. If the behavior of the mystery kid was any indication, he hoped he was on the right track, staying particularly close to the owl statue for good measure. At one point the kid had come through here…logic followed he’d come out the same way.</p><p>            All of this seemed more and more like a long shot as time ticked on. Ganon had to remind himself, repeatedly, that he literally had nothing else better to go on. It wouldn’t kill him to spend three days observing, or, perhaps it would if time didn’t reset like he expected it to. Honestly, as he sat in the insufferable damp heat, swatting at bugs and perspiring amidst stagnated air, death seemed preferable.</p><p>            He repeated his watchful route a number of times throughout the remainder of the day, and then again throughout the night. Though it would have been much more comfortable to seek shelter in his hut after the sun went down, Ganon was determined not to miss a single clue that might reveal itself. If that meant sleeping in smaller shifts and remaining as vigilant as one could throughout the night, so be it.</p><p>            It was a long time before his vigilance was rewarded.</p><p>            He spent nearly all three days walking, watching, and smoking his pipe. For most of the time, nothing happened in the slightest. No one came to visit the swamp, Koume and Kotake never deviated from their usual routines, the monsters all acted normal, aside from their increased numbers. It was maddening until Ganon managed to lull himself into a sort of consciousness-suspended state, watching with ever more keen eyes while remaining untroubled by the slow tick of time. He thought of little and assumed nothing, waiting patiently for whatever may come.</p><p>            As noon on the third day started to approach, he figured he was waiting for time to reset by now. The coming end to his long vigilance was bringing back his presence of mind, and with it, a sort of removed disappointment. He’d been sure, very sure, that the swamp might reveal something to him. Not even that strange kid had shown back up. He was like a ghost of a memory, only ever appearing in the form of hearsay during the original three days. It bothered Ganon to no end, and didn’t sit well in his gut, but what else was there to do?</p><p>            With a troubled sigh, he stood to make his rounds through the swamp, taking a small hunting knife with him to check on his traps. They yielded two lizards and a small rat. He strapped them unenthusiastically to his belt, thinking wistfully of the food in Clock town. Game wouldn’t be any more pleasant in Ikana or Snowhead, though, so he figured he might as well get used to it. Nothing else stood out as noteworthy until he was on his way back. Even lost as he was in thoughts of disappointment and future plans, he couldn’t possibly miss the sudden, significant change to the surrounding bog.</p><p>            The water in Woodfall was purified.</p><p>            Ganondorf stopped, sniffing the air that no longer carried the harsh odor of poison. He squinted down the swamp, past the deku lily pad trail, where purple hues once swirled threateningly. The water was undeniably clean now, or at least, clean for a swamp. Benumbed shock replaced the weight of dismay in his chest, freezing idle thoughts in place. This couldn’t be another coincidence. He raced to the boat tour dock, seeking out waters that were once leaking poison into the bay. They were just as clean as the water near the Deku Kingdom, indicating that the entire swamp had been purified at once. Such events did not occur naturally. After living with the magic threaded throughout all of Hyrule, Ganon knew such things indicated a healed guardian spirit, or a broken curse. But who—</p><p>            A sudden gust of wind blew through the clearing. It was an unnatural wind, carrying the weight of something else along with it. Ganon quickly made himself scarce, hiding amongst the surrounding trees. He watched with sharp eyes as the powerful gale immediately centered around the owl statue, heart quickening when a white sphere manifested. It was teleportation magic. <em>Real</em> <em>magic</em>.</p><p>            The answers he had so desperately sought were undeniably at hand. A surge of triumph shot through him, bestial grin beginning to unfurl.</p><p>            Then the sphere burst into a show of white feathers, revealing an impossible figure, an acutely devastating figure.</p><p>            Horror took root somewhere within the swirling rage. Ganon couldn’t move, the premature grin slipping off his face like dead weight. He knew without a shadow of a doubt who was behind the time-traveling mystery now. Really, he’d known all along. It had simply been too bitter a brew to swallow without undeniable proof. There was no mistaking that green tunic now, or the familiar mop of blonde hair. He even had that damn fairy with him.</p><p>            Like something out of a nightmare, the Hero of Time appeared before the owl statue, rendered back to the runt-sized pipsqueak Ganon had first encountered him as.</p><p>            From the depths of his soul, he hoped what he was witnessing was just another awful imitation from Termina, a cruel coincidence, like his Mothers. But these hopes were dashed as Ganon watched him stash away a painfully familiar ocarina, brushing a stray feather off his tiny shoulder. If he had the ocarina and was using it to travel through time, it could only mean he was the very same Hero who once defeated him, who ran a sword through his skull and upended <em>years </em>of carefully laid plans. The one who stole his destiny from him.</p><p>            Hate and malice like he only felt once before coursed through him. His jaw popped, teethed grinding together furiously. The mere sight of him made murder bleed through his veins, hot and poisonous. Were he in Hyrule, he might already have transformed into his more demonic form and torn the brat limb from limb. He clearly didn’t have the Master Sword on him now. The little runt was <em>vulnerable. </em></p><p>            Ganon was already moving to step out of the trees, to attack before the other could pull out that pinprick of a sword strapped to his back, but something more levelheaded stayed his hand. A ghost of a whisper came from the back of his mind, reminding him that they weren’t in Hyrule anymore, that they were <em>both</em> in Termina. Somehow, the Hero had gotten here. Whether he was sent by the Goddesses or came of his own accord, the fact remained that he was here, which meant eventually, he’d <em>leave</em>. If Ganon killed him now he might be killing his one ticket out, bitter a ticket as it may be.</p><p>            “Come on! Teal said the mountains were next! We’ve got enough time to find one of these handy statues in Snowhead before midnight. Well, maybe. With your puny legs it’s debatable, but if you run <em>real</em> fast-Ow! Hey, what was that for!?”</p><p>            The kid flicked at his chattering fairy with a deadpanned expression, saying nothing more as he tightened a few straps of his gear and made to head off at the fairy’s behest. He took two quick steps before slowing to a halt though, a sudden tension stiffening his shoulders. Ganon ducked more carefully under the shadows of the swamp as the kid—Link—turned around sharply.</p><p>            For all his appearances of being a child, it was immediately evident the person inside was <em>not. </em>Cold, ice blue eyes scanned the trees where Ganon lied in wait, a stillness coming over him that no true child could manage. Shadows beset by combative harshness lined his young face, discordant with his apparent age. The once Gerudo King restrained his fury, squashed the urge to run out and meet that stare with the sing of metal. Link had picked up on his presence somehow, but Ganon wasn’t ready to confront the brat. Not without more information and preferably something he could use to lord over him. Link continued to stare, taking a small step toward the tree line, his hand twitching for a weapon.</p><p>            “Hey! You still got Deku brains or something? Let’s <em>go</em>!”</p><p>            The fairy, who Ganon was beginning to suspect might be a different fairy, flew right into Link’s face. The tiny Hero gave her a startled, withering stare, batting her out of the way and ignoring her indignant yells. The distraction was enough to shake the foreboding that had caused him to stop, and with barely a backward glance, he continued his run out of the swamp.</p><p>            Ganon followed immediately.</p><p>            Despite his puny legs, the kid was still fast. This came as no surprise to Ganon, who could clearly remember the advantage of speed Link had when they fought. The Gerudo kept himself well hidden in the trees as he raced after his quarry, employing all the instinctual stealth skills that came from being a King of Thieves. He was mindful of Link’s well-honed sense of danger, staying far enough away to remain undetected.</p><p>            Ganon watched as Link effortlessly ran through common monsters that tried to attack him. Without slowing his pace, he knocked two venomous bats out of the sky using a couple well-placed arrows. He barely paused when a pair of wolfos almost twice his size tried to eat him, utterly unconcerned as he dodged claws that could gut him in one swipe. Clearly, the runt hadn’t become complacent since their last battle.</p><p>            Termina field opened wide for them, its great expansiveness highlighting the falling moon, which now filled the sky. Link glanced briefly at it and kept running, the fairy bouncing along beside him. It was more difficult to follow him now. The field offered little cover, and the tremors that shook Termina were more violent. Luckily, Ganon already knew where they were going, deciding to take a detour through town.</p><p>            People yelled angrily as he pushed his way through a thickening festival crowd. He paid them no heed, using his substantially bigger size to practically trample anyone who wasn’t quick enough to dive out of his way. He would <em>not </em>lose his target, not to the idiots of Clock Town.</p><p>            “Hey! Watch it!”</p><p>            Ganon shoved a group of performers out of the way, winding through narrow streets. Stalls were set up throughout the town, further hindering his path. He practically barreled through the gate guard to access North Termina field. Finally, the bustle of the festival fell behind. Snowhead’s icy peaks rose high in his path, a chilled wind blowing down from the mountains. His eyes frantically scanned the surrounding landscape, searching for a green tunic and a fairy, but he heard him before he saw him. The unmistakable clamor of battle came from the icy valley at the foot of the mountain. Ganon quickly made his way to field’s edge, looking over the ridge to see a pint-sized Hero taking on a baby dodongo.</p><p>            Link was no stranger to these creatures either. The body of one already lay in the distance, steam rising from its sword-hewn hide. Ganon was too far away to detect any injury the boy might have sustained, but the walls of rock and ice echoed every sound of battle out of the valley.</p><p>            The dodongo currently trying to kill Link spun violently, its powerful tail aimed for a deadly blow. He back-flipped out of the way, igniting a bomb as he landed and lobbing it at the monster. The explosion cracked some of the surrounding ice sheets as well as the tender flesh along the beasts tail. It roared in pain, spinning around again and nearly pinning Link to the wall. He jumped at the last second, kicking off the ice behind him and landing on the monster’s back.</p><p>            Ganon watched with a degree of perturbation as the kid began hacking away at the creatures lower spine, using his legs to hold on to the thrashing beast and heedless to its wails of agony. The monster finally came to a stuttering halt, exhaling a low moan before going deathly still. Link was already sliding off its back, casually walking to its tail and skinning off the hide in long strips. Ganon watched, further disturbed, as he stepped on one end of a strip and pulled it taunt, proceeding to scrape off as much gore as he could with the edge of his sword.</p><p>            He did this to the other strips as well before wrapping them around the exposed skin on his arms and legs, lashing the hides tight with cordage from one of his satchels. The end result was a rather horrific looking child-monster dripping in blood and estranged flesh, but, as Link was apparently trying to communicate to his disgusted fairy, he wouldn’t freeze to death in the mountains.</p><p>            “Ewwww, if I’d known you were gonna do <em>that</em> I would have agreed to wait for Snowhead until <em>after</em> finding supplies in Clock Town!”</p><p>            Link shrugged, turning around and heading up the snowy mountain road without a word. His fairy trailed after him, muttering things incoherent. Silently, and with a little more careful space between them now, Ganon followed too. He passed the mutilated dodongo with a disquieted grimace, but didn’t linger, much more concerned with keeping his prey in sight.</p><p>            The mountain road was fraught with obstacles and perils. Where they might have stopped a normal person, Link was only slightly slowed down. A merciless wind blew harsh and cold as they traveled further into the mountains. The young Hero regularly looked up at the sky now, especially as the sun began to dip closer to the horizon. The scowling moon brought evermore tremors as it inched closer. Soon Link was running in knee-deep snow, fighting against tektites, white wolfos, and the elements.</p><p>            He largely cleared the path for Ganon to follow after him, but strange creatures the locals called ‘boes’ continually popped up to hinder his way. He was not ignorant to how these small, ghost-like creatures were named similarly, if not stupidly, to Hyrule’s poes. Unlike the more ghoul-like spirits of home, these annoyances simply nipped at his heels and, more importantly, threatened to blow his cover. Ganon squashed them as quietly as he could, staying father back to make up for their slinking chirps.</p><p>            After a couple hours of colder and colder progress, the Mountain Village loomed ahead. As relieving as it was to see the end in sight, it was still a poor excuse for a village, having only one building and resident, two if the gormless man who ran the Mountain Smithy—Zubora—was to be counted. Ganon had visited it in the past, when the snowfall wasn’t so unseasonably thick.</p><p>            Link hacked and bombed his way up the trail, leveling a path of moderate destruction in his wake until it opened up into a broad clearing, unveiling the lone cabin set amidst a deep snowscape. Ganon hung back as Link paused to observe the still space and catch his breath, small puffs of air dissipating before his haggard face. He looked up at the moon again, and the nearly darkened sky could not hide his visible anxiety. The earth trembled, more violently, threateningly.</p><p>            “Come on, there’s gotta be a statue around here somewhere!”</p><p>            His fairy flew off into the white gloom, leaving him alone. Link didn’t move, teeth chattering behind blue-tinged lips. Ganon concealed himself within a copse of icy trees. From his vantage point, he could see the way the other’s eyes shifted around, narrowed suspiciously. He remained still for a long moment, as if frozen by the surrounding cold. Ganon couldn’t help but level a hateful glare at the small figure. It would be so easy to throw his dirk and watch it sink into the flesh of his exposed neck. Vengeance would be a simple thing to take, almost handed to him on a platter.</p><p>            Link must have picked up on his murderous thoughts. He soon unsheathed his sword and shield, moving away from the clearing entrance. Tension was visibly wrought throughout his shoulders, his head turning regularly to keep a sharp eye out for danger. It wasn’t safe for Ganon to move away from the copse of trees. It gave him a moment to reflect on his lack of plan. He’d been so shocked by his adversary’s presence and the subsequent pursuit that he had no idea what to do if the brat tried to alter time and get away from him. The ground trembled again, highlighting the unfortunate necessity of Link’s role in all of this madness. He had to let him use the ocarina to reset time. Otherwise they’d all die.</p><p>            He watched the young boy scour the landscape, looking for an owl statue that apparently served as an anchor point for his transportation magic. Ganon’s heart began to quicken, angry at the thought of losing track of him so soon. There had to be a way to keep him from disappearing after resetting time. As Link moved deeper into the clearing, Ganon snaked his way behind the cabin, keeping the runt in sight. His fairy was hovering around him now, apparently having had better luck in their search. Time was running out.</p><p>            “What do you mean we’re being followed? I haven’t seen anyone but monsters and snow for <em>hours</em>! I think you’re just paranoid.”</p><p>            Link looked frustration with the fairy, but didn’t have time to further persuade her. She flew off without an ounce of hesitation, flying over to a mess of snow, rock and trees beside a small, icy pond.</p><p>            “Look, I think I found something. Just activate the statue and then we can lose whatever you think is following us, right?”</p><p>            Her companion huffed out a breath of air, marching over to the gathering of trees where she fluttered around. Ganon dared to slink closer, his heart pounding. Link dug at a mound of snow piled before the ice-covered cliff face, eventually unveiling another owl statue with folded wings.</p><p>            “See! We’re practically home-free! Now do your thing, it’s freezing out here.”</p><p>            The young hero looked wholly irritated with his fairy, but didn’t comment. Instead he raised his sword and brought it down hard on the stone owl. A bright flash of light blinded Ganon, and for one heart-stopping moment he thought he’d lost him. Then the light dimmed, revealing an activated statue with wings raised high in flight.</p><p>            “Great! I knew you could do it!” The fairy danced around his head, heedless of the dour glare he cast in her direction as he pulled out a familiar ocarina.</p><p>            Urgency burst hot and fiery in Ganon’s chest at the sight of it, knowing the moment was truly at hand. If he didn’t do something fast he’d lose track of his one ticket out of Termina, but if he stopped him, the moon would destroy them all. As if to underscore this point, the earth shook more violently than ever.</p><p>            “Uuuh, now might be a good time to play that little ditty, don’t ya think? I mean you’re cutting it kinda close!”</p><p>            Link made sure she saw his glare this time, silently reminding her who insisted on this mad dash into the mountains in the first place. He put the ocarina to his lips, the first few notes of that haunting melody cutting through the cold air. Link’s eyes slid shut, a more serene expression settling over his face as the song brought a sense of comfort that Ganon could not relate to. In a flash of desperation, the larger man saw his opportunity. He moved before fully realizing it, urged by panic. The last few notes of that haunting melody echoed off the snowy cliffs just as Ganon found himself within grabbing distance, his hand reaching out.</p><p>            “Hey, who the heck are you?”</p><p>            Link’s eyes snapped open as Ganon’s hand clenched around his arm in a vice-like grip. The world fell away into a void of white. The fairy was yelling something else, but it couldn’t be heard over the blood pounding in Ganon’s ears. Link’s face had lost all color. He stood immobilized, staring up at him in abject horror and a sort of terror that hollowed out his eyes. The ground fell away in the next instant, taking them both with it. The fact that Ganon was following Link into this strange world of ticking clocks seemed to galvanize a reaction out of the young hero. He immediately fought against the grip on his arm with everything he had, even biting his hand when nothing else worked. Ganon redoubled his hold, wrestling with the feral little rat as his fairy screamed nonsense around their heads. Distantly, the melody that resounded in the world of white came to an end. The fighting figures falling through its center didn’t notice, crash landing to a sudden halt in the middle of Clock Town.</p><p>            “Hold <em>still</em>, you little—!”</p><p>            Link twisted out of another hold like a slippery fish, but Ganon grabbed his ankle before he could get away, dragging him back. A sudden uppercut landed under Ganon’s jaw, small and pathetic. He curled his lips into a grin. The Hero was so puny he hardly stood a threat. Link seemed to realized this too, a wild desperation setting in as he went low with a well-aimed kick at his groin.</p><p>            “Why you—!”</p><p>            Ganon grunted in pain, lashing out to grab the kid. He just <em>barely</em> caught him, grasping the neck of his tunic and pinning him to the cobblestone with all of his bodily weight. Link gasped for breath, but was momentarily subdued, giving Ganon a spare second to notice the attention they were beginning to attract. The last thing he needed was anyone in Clock Town trying to get involved, especially when it looked like he was beating up a child. He wrestled Link into a better hold and dragged them both through the lower Clock Tower door, shutting out the light of day with a final slam as he brought down a heavy beam, locking the door against nosy intruders.</p><p>            “Tatl!” Link screamed.</p><p>            It was the first time he’d heard him speak. Ever. The unexpected shout for help was clipped, but sharp. It came out like a shot in the dark, and for a moment, Ganon was caught a little off guard.</p><p>            The fairy, which he hadn’t noticed follow them in, was suddenly blazing with light in his face. He stumbled back in surprise, falling against a support beam and losing his grip on the tiny Hero enough for Link to wiggle out a small knife. He aimed to jam it between the knuckles of his hand, but Ganon caught him at the last second, winded and angry. The little brat was like a pit viper. Link cried out when he twisted the knife out of his tiny grip, likely breaking his wrist. He wasn’t too concerned with being gentle. The fairy, Tatl, flew in his face again.</p><p>            “No! Get help!” Link yelled, his struggles not remotely slowed by the pain in his wrist.</p><p>            Ganon recognized the wisdom in this demand and immediately shut it down, snatching the dumbstruck fairy out of the air. He caught her in his fist, squeezing the thrashing, miniscule body until her light flickered and a high pitch keen echoed out. Link immediately froze, now reaching desperately for the fairy held high in the air.</p><p>            “No! No, stop! Leave her alone! Ganondorf, <em>stop</em>!”</p><p>            The Gerudo heeded his cries and stopped squeezing the screaming fairy only when Link’s voice bordered on a broken sob. Tatl panted and cried in his grip, completely exhausted. Ganon looked down at Link, meeting his eyes with a murderous chill that made the young Hero flinch.</p><p>            “Don’t hurt her.” He whispered.</p><p>            “Don’t run away.”</p><p>            Link nodded, glancing again at the near-limp fairy. Ganon shoved him to the ground, confident the brat wouldn’t try anything with the fairy held hostage. He quickly scrambled to his feet, stepping back enough that Ganon couldn’t try crushing him under his boot. Threads of hate began to swirl with the fear in his eyes, an intense expression on a body so young. Ganon watched him coolly, considering his options as they sized each other up. For starters, he wanted answers.</p><p>            “Why are you here?”</p><p>            Link shrugged.</p><p>            “…Fell in.”</p><p>            Ganon stared, waiting for him to elaborate. He didn’t.</p><p>            “You fell in?” He questioned, eye’s narrowing in a glare. Link glanced at the weakly moving fairy and huffed.</p><p>            “Yes.”</p><p>            Ganon ground his teeth together, beginning to tighten his fist. Link’s glower immediately shifted to alarm.</p><p>            “Wait-stop! I just fell in! I was chasing the Skull Kid! He took my horse, there’s nothing more to say!”</p><p>            “I’ll decide that.” Ganon growled through gritted teeth, only barely lessening his grip. “Where did you ‘fall in’?”</p><p>            “I don’t know exactly. Deep in the Lost Woods.”</p><p>            “Why were you in the Lost Woods?”</p><p>            “I-“ Link got quiet, glaring balefully. “…I live there.”</p><p>            “Don’t lie to me, kid. You’re terrible at it.”</p><p>            Link’s glare deepened, his shoulder’s hunched in wounded anger.</p><p>            “I was looking for my fairy, Navi. She…she disappeared, after—“</p><p>            He cut himself off, but didn’t need to finish. Ganon was slowly piecing it together, though getting information from the brat was akin to pulling teeth.</p><p>            “Why are you a child again?”</p><p>            “Zelda sent me back after we locked you away.”</p><p>            The fairy in his grip was looking less wounded and much more curious now, shifting her attention back and forth between the tense standoff. Ganon ignored her, instead regarding the pint-sized mystery glaring daggers at him. So apparently the Hero <em>hadn’t </em>gone on to live a life of luxury after his defeat. Zelda had seen fit to send him back in time, probably to regain his lost childhood or some nonsense, which meant Termina existed outside—or perhaps alongside—their original time stream. It might even be its own dimension, given Majora’s presence. It was entirely possible Link fell in without any clue as to where he truly was.</p><p>            “The imp you were chasing, this Skull Kid, did he have a heart-shaped mask on?”</p><p>            Link nodded slowly, his expression turning guarded.</p><p>            “What do you know about that mask?” Ganon demanded.</p><p>            He shrugged, but the hard glint in his eyes said he knew more than he let on. Ganon sighed, rolling his eyes.</p><p>            “I’m not looking to take the mask for myself, kid. I have no interest in being Majora’s puppet. Tell me what you know about the mask and what exactly you’re doing here in Termina. <em>Now</em>.”</p><p>            The immanent threat in his tone was clear. Link’s shoulders sagged, an angry, almost tedious sigh escaping past his lips as he finally relented his unnecessary stoicism.</p><p>            “Fine…I chased the Skull Kid, fell in a hole. He got mad and turned me into a deku scrub. I tried to chase after him again, but Tatl stopped me.” He glanced at the fairy again. “She got separated from her brother. We stuck together, found the Skull Kid, got my Ocarina back, and used it to turn back time. Tatl’s brother, Tael, told us to gather the four giants in Termina to stop the moon from falling, so that’s what we’re doing.”</p><p>            Ganon was quiet a moment, absorbing the brief story. His annoying, broken style of rhetoric left the need for more questions.</p><p>            “You were turned into a deku scrub? How did you regain your human form?”</p><p>            Link shrugged. He seemed to do that a lot. It was also annoying.</p><p>            “The Happy Mask Salesman taught me a song of healing. It turned me human again. Will you let go of Tatl now?”</p><p>            Ganon snorted.</p><p>            “Don’t be so hasty. You’re god-awful at answering questions. <em>Who</em> is the Happy Mask Salesman? Is there anything <em>else</em> you can think to tell me? My patience is rapidly disappearing, kid.”</p><p>            “I don’t know who the Happy Mask Salesman is! He was just…<em>here</em> in Termina, and he knew about the Skull Kid because the Skull Kid stole his mask! I’m supposed to get it back for him.”</p><p>            “His mask? You mean Majora’s Mask?”</p><p>            “I guess?” Link shrugged. Goddesses above, he was damn near useless.</p><p>            “Okay.” Ganon took a deep breath, rubbing his temples. “So you tripped your way into Termina and got yourself caught up in saving it, is that what I’m hearing?”</p><p>            “…Basically.”</p><p>            He said this with a barely detectable undercurrent of bitterness, which was a little unexpected from Hylia’s golden boy, but Ganon didn’t care enough to comment on it. Instead he took another deep breath, feeling a migraine come on. The fairy’s curiosity was definitely piqued by now, her grating light nearly returned to a healthy glow. Despite being held in a precarious situation, she felt bold enough to speak.</p><p>            “Wait, how do you two know each other? What’s going on?”</p><p>            They both ignored her.</p><p>            “Why are <em>you </em>here?” Link bit out, fists clenching. “You’re supposed to be rotting in the Sacred Realm. Did you escape?”</p><p>            “Hardly.” Ganon rolled his eyes, not planning to elaborate more than that.</p><p>            Link looked like he was going to demand more answers, and so was the fairy, which was so audacious it might have been laughable if Ganon didn’t hate everyone so much, particularly Link. He held the fairy between them to silence any more words, reminding them both who had the leverage here. They got the message, jaws snapping shut.</p><p>            “Wise choice.” Ganon sneered. “Now that we’ve gotten pleasantries out of the way, we can move on to more productive matters.”</p><p>            Link immediately fell into a battle ready stance, the hardness in his eyes almost eerie on such a young face. He looked prepared to fight to the death despite his tiny size and acute lack of the Master Sword. Admirable and annoying as such fighting instincts were, it wasn’t what Ganon had in mind. No, necessity required him to make circumstances much worse, for both of them.</p><p>            “Now that I know whose behind all these time manipulations, I unfortunately can’t let you out of my sight.”</p><p>            Link gaped in response, downright scandalized.</p><p>            “<em>What</em>? What do you-Why don’t you just kill me?”</p><p>            “Oh believe me, kid, I’d like to. But then <em>I’d</em> have to deal with the irritation bringing down the moon, and frankly, heroism just isn’t my style.”</p><p>            “But-No, I have to—to t-travel and help people and—you-you <em>shouldn’t be here</em>!”</p><p>            Whatever speech problem the kid had seemed to heighten significantly under duress. It was almost funny how much he was falling apart at the prospect of Ganon’s company, though he couldn’t say he blamed the runt.</p><p>            “Yet here I am, a reality we <em>both</em> have to endure. Try not to give yourself an aneurism about it.</p><p>            “B-but—you <em>can’t</em> <em>go with me</em>!”</p><p>“I can, in fact, and without your precious Master Sword, you can’t stop me. I think we both remember what happened the last time you tried to challenge me in such a small, insignificant form.”</p><p>“What happened?” The fairy looked back and forth between the glaring adversaries. “Hey, stop ignoring me! What’s going on!”</p><p>            Link paid her no heed. Ganon considered squashing her on principle.</p><p>            “But <em>why </em>do you have to <em>go with me</em>?” The young hero was so agitated his little arms were shaking, voice steadily rising to a shout. “Why can’t you just pick a hole and sit in for a few days until I can work it all out!”</p><p>            “Because every damn time you manipulate time, no matter where you are, you take me along with it! If I have to idle through endless resets because you’ve got your head up your ass helping some poor sap, I’ll burn Termina to the ground myself!”</p><p>            Link grit his teeth, every inch of his body looking desperate for a fight. The feeling, Ganon thought, was mutual.</p><p>            “No.” He spat hatefully. “I don’t know why you’re here, or what you’re planning, but I’m not about to help you with any of it. You stay the hell away from me. I’ll deal with you <em>after </em>I stop the moon from falling.”</p><p>            “You forget, <em>dear Hero</em>, I have your little fairy’s life in the literal palm of my hand.” Ganon sneered back, stepping forward to tower over the pipsqueak. Link didn’t back down in the slightest.</p><p>            “For now.” He snapped back. Tatl squawked indignantly. “You can’t hold her forever, especially when I have to reset time.”</p><p>            “I don’t have to threaten just her life, fool. I have an entire world of victims to chose from. How many people do you think I can kill in three days? How many bodies do you want to count before each reset?”</p><p>            Link stood very still, a wordless horror widening his eyes. Ganon let a mean, merciless grin unfurl, crouching down to get right in his face, pitching his voice low and quiet.</p><p>            “If I set fire to all of Clock Town, do you think you’d see the smoke from Snowhead? I’ll torture all of Termina while you take your time finding those giants, <em>Hero</em>.”</p><p>            The child before him swallowed thickly, the barest tremble shaking his shoulders. He was a pathetically predictable fool, in the end. Of course he’d disregard his better judgment for the sake of strangers, strangers who wouldn’t even remember the atrocities Ganon might commit after each reset. That detail wouldn’t matter to someone like Link, though, because Link would remember. He’d remember all of their screams, all of their suffering, all because he refused to relent to Ganon’s demands.</p><p>            “Who <em>is </em>this asshole?” the tiny fairy in his grip asked weakly.</p><p>            Link continued to glare at him, but they both knew he was beat. Defeat was already visible in the ire of his ice blue eyes.</p><p>            “…Fine.”</p><p>            Ganon grinned wider.</p><p>           Escape from Termina would only be a matter of time.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I am having the darnedest time with formatting...so there's no indents on this chapter...I hope it's not too distracting. I'm also hoping to be able to include artwork in the future, but shit if I can't figure that out either. I feel like a god damn Boomer right now this is awful</p>
<p>Oh well I'll try to get back to it here's an update at least okay gotta go my kid wants to go camping byeeeee</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was unnecessary to continue threatening the fairy. By the bitterness on Link’s face, it was clear he wouldn’t go back on their deal. Ganon wasn’t so foolish as to believe the young hero was completely complacent to his predicament, but for now, it was safe to assume Link wouldn’t try to run off on him.</p>
<p>With that business secured, he dropped the trembling fairy in front of the boy, who rushed to catch her before she hit the ground. Without pause, he dug around in one of his satchels to find a bottle of red potion, giving her a few drops before rubbing some over his wrist. She responded well to the medicine, her light brightening back up as she flew into the air, staying well out of Ganon’s reach this time.</p>
<p>“Hey,” She spoke to Link nervously, pulling on his ear. “Seriously, what gives? Who is this guy?”</p>
<p>“…A problem.” He muttered back, moving away as Ganon lifted the heavy lock braced across clock tower door.</p>
<p>“We’re not really gonna let him travel with us, are we?”</p>
<p>“You heard what he said, Tatl. We don’t have a choice.”</p>
<p>“Well…yeah, but…I mean those people wouldn’t remember-“</p>
<p>Link whipped his head around and cast her a look so furious it could have melted all the ice off Snowhead Mountain. She immediately quit talking, ducking low in shame. Ganon couldn’t quite hold back a chuckle at the Hero’s expense, watching as he practically stomped out of the tower.</p>
<p>Bright blue skies and a buzzing Clock Town square greeted their re-entry. Venomous satisfaction oozed through Ganon as he observed the cagey, harried form of the once great Hero. Though it was a mere sliver of long over-due revenge, Ganon was keen on the thought of many more such opportunities in the future. It was the only silver lining to their uneasy partnership.</p>
<p>“I need to get supplies.” Link spoke through gritted teeth, his child-like voice contrasting with the depth of vitriol in his words. “Unless you want to insist on <em>shopping </em>with me too, I suggest we go our separate ways and meet back at the North gate in thirty minutes.”</p>
<p>Without further confirmation or agreement on this plan, he pulled out his ocarina. Ganon reacted on reflex, grabbing his arm to stop him. Link startled at the sudden movement and yanked himself away.</p>
<p>“Calm down. I need to slow time.”</p>
<p>Ganon set his jaw, resisting the urge to punch the uncurbed brat. There were too many witnesses here that might raise issue with hitting what looked like a child. There’d be time enough for that in the mountains, away from critical eyes.</p>
<p>Link kept a sharp eye on him as he raised the ocarina again, more cautious this time. He didn’t break his stare as he flew through the strange, off-key song. Seconds before the world around them faded to white, it occurred to Ganon that he was playing a backwards version of the more haunting, time altering melody.</p>
<p>The same dizziness occurred as a circle of wobbly, ticking clocks slowed to a snail’s pace all around him. Through the mental fog, he noticed Link wasn’t with him, but once the white void faded away, he was standing by his side just as before. Link put the ocarina away without a word, though judging by the expression on his face, he’d noticed the other’s brief absence as well. It seemed, when manipulating time, maintaining a close proximity wasn’t going to be sufficient. Ganon suspected he’d have to physically touch Link to travel back in time with him for each reset. Otherwise, he’d probably end up back in the swamp. Joy.</p>
<p>If Link was aware of this, he made no indication other than a more dour glare, turning away from Ganon and disappearing into the crowds of Clock Town with his fairy. The Gerudo man scoffed to himself, staring bitterly into the mess of meandering people. The kid’s short stature was going make him more difficult to keep track of, but at least he didn’t have to deal with a grown hero wielding the Master Sword. Circumstances had rendered the Hero of Time weaker just as it had himself. Though of course, the two weren’t exactly comparable. Link may be in the more vulnerable body of a child now, but he still had the ability to use magic. Clearly, he was still favored by the Goddesses. A grim voice reminded Ganon of his own losses in that particular sphere, something the Hero didn’t need to know about.</p>
<p>In fact, there was a lot the Hero didn’t need to know about, starting with the possibility that he might not actually need the Master Sword to kill him at this point. It was an uncomfortable theory he had no intention of testing. As he walked through Clock Town, gathering his own supplies for the mountain excursion, he took the time to better flesh out the web of half-truths and lies he’d need to utilize in order to keep Link in-check.</p>
<p>Ganon was, undoubtedly, in a more vulnerable position than the hero. More than just being devoid of magic, Ganon was physically tied to Termina in a way Link wasn’t. If the kid wasn’t plagued by his own hero complex, he could probably leave at any time. Ganon wasn’t exactly sure what would happen when Link defeated Majora, but the dissolution of this strange dimensional world was highly probable.    He wondered if the Goddesses were counting on that, if they had perhaps even brought Link here, unbeknownst to the Hero, to secure Termina’s end in some way or another…and thus Ganondorf’s end as well. It was just as likely he could remain trapped in Termina whether it disappeared in a fiery moon-crashing death or if it was resolved by the heroic defeat of its prime agitator, Majora. If that were so, then the <em>only </em>viable way out was through Link himself, but there was no way he’d just <em>let</em> Ganon leave. Not willingly, or intentionally, at least.</p>
<p>A frustrated sigh escaped the larger man as he packed away some dried meats, approaching the North Gate. There were too many unknowns to make a concrete plan. It vexed Ganon to no end. The only thing he could be certain on was that the less Link understood about Termina and his imprisonment in it, the better. The more distracted Ganon could keep him, the less time he’d have to discover his true aim in accompanying him. Between the moon falling and the mouthy fairy, he had a fair suspicion keeping Link too harried to think would be almost entertaining. Perhaps he couldn’t kill the runt, but he could at least aggravate him to near insanity. There was time yet to work out a way to escape Termina through the Hero.</p>
<p>Link returned at exactly thirty minutes. He didn’t look like he’d bought any extra supplies other than a pair of trousers and a small cloak. His expression was downright stormy, and it further darkened at the sight of Ganon waiting for him. He could only assume the kid had filled in his pet fairy on who exactly he was, because she ducked under his hat as they approached. Though perhaps she was still sour about the previous threat of murder.</p>
<p>Link didn’t speak as he approached, barely pausing or looking at Ganon on his way out of the gate. The guard cast them a curious stare, but didn’t comment as they left. The younger stopped just outside the stone walkway, pulling out his ocarina again.</p>
<p>“I’m going go warp us to Snowhead. …I guess you’ll have to…hold on to me or…something.” He looked wildly uncomfortable with the idea, resentment laced thick into his words.</p>
<p>“You’re just a little ray of sunshine, aren’t you Hero?”</p>
<p>Link said nothing in return, but his jaw popped under gritted pressure, and he stiffened even more when Ganon clapped a hand onto his small head.</p>
<p>“I will find a way to end this.” He promised sharply, not needing to specify what exactly he was talking about. Ganon knew full well he wanted nothing more than to get rid of him. Still, it was amusing to watch a person so small make such a bold threat.</p>
<p>“I’m sure you’ll try.” Ganon yawned. “Now hurry up. You’re so short I’m starting get a crick in my back from leaning over like this.”</p>
<p>Link cast him a withering look, much like he’d done to his fairy up in the mountains. Ganon was beginning to wonder if the kid was just naturally unpleasant to be around. He played through a simple ascending melody, again keeping his hawkish gaze on Ganon. White wings, bigger now to accommodate the Gerudo’s large frame, expanded on either side of them. They were wrapped in the cloak of magic, instantaneously dematerialized and transported across the landscape. The more agreeable clime of Termina field was long gone, replaced by icy winds and frigid snowfall. The wings opened to reveal the small mountain village and Link immediately shook off Ganon’s hand, putting several steps of space between them. Tatl flew out from her hiding place tentatively, sticking closer to the boy than normal.</p>
<p>Ganon ignored the pair, observing the quiet, muffled landscape and noting the lack of smoke coming from the forge.</p>
<p>“Let’s try talking to the Gorons.” Tatl spoke quietly to Link. “They’re bound to know something about a mountain giant.”</p>
<p>He nodded in agreement, glancing briefly up at Ganon before moving forward. Link set a quick pace. Even with his longer legs, Ganondorf couldn’t stroll easily after him. Tatl led the way, flying a few spaces ahead of her partner. The Mountian Village was swallowed up by snow behind them. It didn’t take long to come into another clearing, this one wider and more open. As Link took care of a couple tektites, Ganon took in the surrounding area.</p>
<p>A series of rickety wooden bridges creaked in the cold, dry wind, hanging over what looked to be a large, frozen pond. Massive snow piles had amassed on the ice, likely containing monsters lying in wait. The bridges led to small islands of land, equally covered in snow, until they ended at a cut in the mountain face, which likely led to Goron Village. Ganon also noted a familiar man floating high in the sky with a bright red balloon, feeling his eye twitch.</p>
<p>Link made quick work of the tektites. Ganon was perfectly content to hang back as they crossed the first wooden bridge. A white wolfos rose from the snow, howling and baring its long teeth at the sword-wielding snack before it. Link, for his part, didn’t once hesitate or give any indication that he expected back-up from his unwanted companion. In fact, he welcomed the monsters significantly more-so than he had Ganon, looking more enthused the bigger they were.</p>
<p>The white wolfos was no small enemy. Its haunches towered over Link, who stood still as it circled him, sword ready. It was almost comical, witnessing such a sizable beast stalk pray so small and weak looking. Of course, Ganon knew better. That ‘child’ was little more than a mask for the battle-hewn terror inside.</p>
<p>When the monster suddenly ran in for an attack, a savage smirk briefly flashed across Link’s young face. He brought the sword up with uncanny finesse, sinking the blade into the creature’s raised paw and slashing down its limb in the same movement. The wolfos howled and stumbled back, incensed by its own pain. It was little more than a stupid beast, retaliating to the pain with a hasty attack and allowing Link to slip under its sizeable chest. He sunk his blade up under its ribcage and into the creatures heart, killing it instantly.</p>
<p>Its last, surprised howl was cut short by death, falling to the snow in a muffled thump. Link wiped his blade clean on its fur, staining the monster with its own blood. That struck Ganon as crude, but he expected nothing less. The kid didn’t pause on his way to the next bridge, taking out his bow and nocking an arrow as he walked. He seemed to be employing the strategy of pretending Ganon wasn’t there, which was fine by him. It gave him ample opportunity to observe potential weaknesses in the brat. Link aimed his arrow high, and Ganon realized what he was about to do before he could pull himself out of his thoughts to stop him.</p>
<p>“Wait-“</p>
<p>The arrow flew and popped Tingle’s balloon, causing the strange man to let out a wail before crashing into the snow. Link glanced back at Ganon briefly before walking towards the map seller.</p>
<p>“A-ha-ha! It’s you again!”</p>
<p>Tingle laughed in that annoying, guttural way of his, his aged eyes dancing over Link’s shoulders to fall on Ganon. They went wide with delight, causing the larger man to audibly groan.</p>
<p>“And you’ve brought Tingle’s friend, Mister Scary Guy!”</p>
<p>Link choked on his laugh, immediately hiding a smile behind his small hand.</p>
<p>“You know him?” he asked, jerking a thumb over his shoulder.</p>
<p>“Oh yes! He lives in the southern swamp and does not like Tingle very much.” He paused to wave at Ganon, oblivious to the larger man’s scowl. “Hello Mister Scary Guy! Tingle’s father says to be nice to all potential customers, so Tingle doesn’t hold a grudge.”</p>
<p>“What a relief.” Ganon replied dryly.</p>
<p>Link’s smile had disappeared as fast as it had come, a shrewd look to his usual frown.</p>
<p>“How long has he lived in the Southern Swamp?” he asked Tingle, an intensity to his tone that did not fit the small figure it came from. This is what Ganon had wanted to avoid.</p>
<p>“Ooooh, quite a long time now! Tingle doesn’t remember when exactly! You should ask the Potion shop witches! He works for them, don’t you Mister Scary Guy?”</p>
<p>“No. They don’t pay me. Kid, are you gonna buy a map or not? Time is ticking.”</p>
<p>“Don’t be so hasty.” Link shot back with a mean smile. “You’re <em>god-awful </em>at answering questions.”</p>
<p>That punk-ass little shi-</p>
<p>“Thank you for the information, Tingle. Do you have a map of Snowhead?”</p>
<p>“Of course! And at a special discount for you, Mister Fairy! Ten rupees!”</p>
<p>Link paid the highway robber, because he’d definitely tried to charge Ganon nearly sixty rupees for the same map first time he’d wondered through here. Apparently the hero knew just how to worm his way into everyone’s good graces. Link thanked him and moved on, diving into the next unfortunate white wolfos with the same bloodthirsty enthusiasm as the first.</p>
<p>When they finally arrived to their destination, it was as quiet and subdued as the rest of the mountain. There was a weight of mourning that hovered in the muffled stillness, accentuated by the absence of any actual gorons. Ganon wasn’t particularly fond of the rock eaters, not here or in Hyrule. Still, he knew they were a boisterous bunch. Silence in a goron village was not a good sign.</p>
<p>Link was equally at ill-ease, moving carefully through the abandoned village. A low rumble approached from the gloom, inciting tension. It was too muffled to be a rolling goron. The answer revealed itself when Link was nearly knocked over by a large snowball that came barreling around the corner. Moving in the blink of an eye, he rolled out of the way, his eyes following the moving mound of snow suspiciously until Ganon shoved him forward.</p>
<p>“Keep moving, kid, it’s just snow.”</p>
<p>Link stumbled and spun around, a wild fury flashing in his eyes. He looked ready to yell something, or possibly try attacking him, before his wandering fairy called out for their attention.</p>
<p>“Hey! Hey, look! It’s that owl again!”</p>
<p>He stopped, gritting his teeth and looking in the direction of Tatl. With what looked like an enormous effort, he turned and marched away from Ganon, casting him a hateful glare. The larger man smirked, crossing his arms. Pissing off Link was definitely going to be his new favorite game.</p>
<p>When they reached the fairy, she was hanging back from a large owl perched upon a stone pillar near a cliff edge. The massive bird felt otherworldly and hostile. Ganon stopped short, casting it an even glare as he sized the creature up. It held his stare with a steely coldness, entirely too intelligent for his liking. Link, of course, held no such reservations, waltzing right up to the great beast as though they were good friends. In fact, Ganon wouldn’t be surprised if they were. It seemed to him that privileged Heroes were granted spirit guardians as if they were a dime a dozen.</p>
<p>Ganon watched the two converse, unable to make out what they were saying. The unnatural snowfall seemed to swallow sound itself. His gaze wandered in idle boredom, peering curiously at an island cavern set across the misty gorge. It was well out of reach from the village despite the stone pillars that tried to welcome it. Perhaps the hollow was some sacred goron shrine, only accessible on ritual days with special apparatuses.</p>
<p>He looked toward the village carelessly, observing stone structures buried under great blankets of white, like dirt mounded over a grave. Things shifted and slithered under the landscape, occasionally popping up with two glowing yellow eyes. The boes were like maggots, signaling the beginning of Termina’s goron decay. Ganon’s idle ponderings were cut short by the sound of powerfully flapping wings. He looked over to the owl and hero, just in time to watch Link take a running leap directly over the edge of the cliff.</p>
<p>“What are you-!”</p>
<p>A burst of panic became a physical mass lodged in his throat as he watched the tiny idiot kill himself, only for said panic to rapidly mutate into confusion. Link landed on thin air, albeit on wobbly legs. If he heard him shout, he didn’t give Ganon any indication. Once he stabilized himself on the air, he immediately looked up to where the massive owl was hovering strangely, dropping feathers like confetti.</p>
<p>Ganon ran to the edge of the cliff, watching with unschooled horror as his one ticket out of Termina prepared to run and jump again over the fatal gorge, this time at a horizontal angle that had no hope of reaching the cavern across the misty gap.</p>
<p>“You idiot! What the hell are you doing?“</p>
<p>Link paused for the barest second to cast him an exasperated glare before jumping off the air to land on more air, slipping precariously and kicking up a floating feather. It was then that Ganon noticed the bird was flying in a set path, dropping feathers that landed, mostly, on the same invisible platforms that Link was currently jumping to. He continued watching with more mild horror now as Link followed the feathers, blindly slip sliding his was across the chasm. Ganon’s heart found its way back into his throat when he nearly missed the last jump, pin-wheeling his tiny arms and managing to regain his footing on the isolated cavern across from Ganon.</p>
<p>Under any other circumstance, the once Gerudo King would have loved to watch Link fall to his death, but unfortunately, he couldn’t afford that luxury right now. He needed to make sure the reckless fool stayed alive if he wanted to escape Termina. Link had the audacity to cast him a cheeky grin before disappearing inside the cavern, doing whatever nonsense the bird had bid him to do. Ganon’s eye twitched involuntarily.</p>
<p>Luckily, whatever it was didn’t take long. He was scampering out of the cave with a supremely satisfied smile on his face not twenty minutes later. It was honestly the happiest Ganon had ever seen him. Without pause, he whipped out something purple, jumping right into the open air as though it were a perfectly sane thing to do. Whatever tool he’d managed to find in the cave apparently helped reveal the invisible platforms. He jumped across with more assuredness this time, making quick work of it all and landing with a flourish on the village side.</p>
<p>“Don’t do that again.” He growled down at him, pointing a threatening finger.</p>
<p>Link rolled his eyes, he honest to Goddesses <em>rolled his eyes </em>at him, and proceeded to walk away. Ganon was about to hit him when the kid stuttered to a stop, a small gasp escaping the throat he wanted to strangle. Ganon looked up to see exactly nothing. Link seemed pretty sure there was something there, however, likely only visible because of the hand-sized lens in his grip. He appeared to be listening to the invisible nothing, and then gave whatever it was a small nod. Ganon was again about to hit him and demand answers, but the kid suddenly took off.</p>
<p>“Wait!”</p>
<p>Link most certainly did not wait. The larger man growled to himself, feeling a dangerous rage flare up for the easily side-tracked hero. He was already growing tired of the tiny brat blowing him off, as though he could be so easily discarded.</p>
<p>Link had his eyes locked on whatever he could see through the lens. Probably another damn spirit guardian that was about to reveal all sorts of special gadgets or answers to him. Honestly, did this kid have to work for anything? Ganon just hoped they weren’t being duped and led into some sort of trap.</p>
<p>Whatever it was, it certainly had Link’s attention. It was annoying how quick he was despite his short stature. He didn’t even pause to slaughter any disturbed monsters as they made their way back through the snowy pass, leaving Ganon to clean up after him. The flared rage grew hotter. He was <em>not </em>here to mindlessly follow the distractible idiot and it wouldn't abide for much longer. Moving swiftly, they ended up in the small Mountain Village once again. The invisible creature led them to an icy pool that butted up against an empty cliff wall, a dead end.</p>
<p>“You're wasting time.” Ganon snapped caustically.</p>
<p>Link glanced up at him with a frown, shaking his head and exhaling a long-suffering sigh. Before Ganon could reach out and throw him against a tree, he jumped onto a floating chunk of ice.</p>
<p>"Now what are you doing? There's nothing over there!"</p>
<p>Link again ignored him.</p>
<p>"You might as well get used to it. He does weird stuff like this all the time."</p>
<p>Ganon glanced over at the tiny fairy who floated near his head, an unimpressed frown weighing his features. Apparently she'd decided to stop cowering at the sight of him. He didn’t consider that a good thing.</p>
<p>"Aren't you going to go with him?" He snapped.</p>
<p>The fairy immediately bristled.</p>
<p>"Well <em>fine </em>then."</p>
<p>She flew off in a huff, leaving him a moment of quiet peace. Ganondorf watched as Link crossed over to the empty landing, peering up through his spy glass. After a studious moment, he pocketed the Shekiah tool. Despite the lack of footholds, he immediately began scaling the smooth, icy wall with unnatural deftness.</p>
<p>"Of course." Ganon muttered to himself, crossing his arms as he watched the small green speck climb an invisible ladder to the top.</p>
<p>Occasionally he had to scale the wall horizontally, as though the pathway was a maze, but soon enough he reached the top, disappearing over the edge without a backward glance.</p>
<p>Ganondorf glared at the empty cliff, wondering, not for the first time, how his life had come to this. Termina seemed to exist as a reality solely designed to mock his life choices. The disgrace of defeat in Hyrule hadn't been enough to feed his existential bitterness. Now he had to rely on and babysit his most hated enemy. It didn't help that Link was frustratingly non-communicative. He couldn't tell how much of his absent-mindedness was a fault of character and how much was pure spite.</p>
<p>Regardless, they were supposed to be finding a mountain giant, not chasing invisible distractions up a cliff. How in Hylia's name had this imbecile managed to blunder through five temples and defeat him? It was almost embarrassing.</p>
<p>Over an hour later, and well after Ganon's remaining patience had thoroughly evaporated, Link returned to the top of the cliff. Even from a distance, he looked dazed and vaguely disconnected from a solid grip on reality. It wasn't until after his fairy smacked him on the head that he shook off whatever miasma had dredged through his mind, moving once more with a scuttling swiftness.</p>
<p>He hastily dropped down the rungs of the invisible ladder. Ganon watched with deceptive patience, violence barely restrained under twitching fingers. The little <em>rat </em>had left him, heedlessly, in Snowhead's bitter cold for over an <em>hour</em>. This would not go unaddressed.</p>
<p>"I mean the spring was <em>right there</em>. All we did was move a rock. He didn't have to become an ice sculpt—whoa!"</p>
<p>The second Link jumped onto the mainland, Ganon yanked him off the ground with a crushing grip around his neck. The tiny hero choked and spluttered, scratching at Ganon's fingers with pathetically small hands.</p>
<p>"What is the matter with you!? Let him go!" The tiny fairy screamed, but didn't dare come in reach of Ganon's other hand.</p>
<p>He ignored her, glaring hatefully at the small, suffocating figure desperately gasping for air. Ganon could feel all the tiny vertebrae in his neck, how <em>easy </em>it would be to snap them one by one. Link's face was turning a dangerous shade of purple, his struggles losing their ferocity and becoming sluggish.</p>
<p>"Stop! You're <em>killing him</em>!"</p>
<p>The murderous rage pounding in his ears preened at the very idea, but logic forcibly stayed his hand. Ganon enjoyed the sight of his dying enemy for a moment longer before throwing him against an icy wall. His tiny body crumbled into the cold snow, desperate, haggard gasps clawing out for air. He blindly reached for his sword as Ganon approached, the usual nimbleness crippled by his oxygen starved state. It was a simple matter for Ganon to yank the weapon away and press its blade to his neck, gripping his entire head with one hand. Everything about the Hero was small and vulnerable now, a fact which Ganon deeply relished.</p>
<p>"You left me out here for over an <em>hour</em>."</p>
<p>Link still couldn't speak, but the fear in his eyes was satisfying enough. The blooming confusion, not so much.</p>
<p>"What?" Tatl snapped. "We were only gone for like five minutes! What are you talking about, an <em>hour</em>?"</p>
<p>Anxiety unrelated to Ganon's threat leaked into the young hero's eyes, poisoning the fear he'd been so enjoying. Link looked up at the sky, seeking out the moon with an obsessive intensity. Ganon shook his head like a tumbler of Noble Pursuit, bringing him back to Earth.</p>
<p>"Focus, kid! The moon won't fall for another three days. I, on the other hand, am prepared to cripple you <em>now</em>. I'd like nothing more than to gut you with your own sword and leave your frozen carcass to the wolves."</p>
<p>Link's silent glower was not complacent. He'd muscled through his initial fear and was now leveling a challenging glare at the larger man. They both knew the threat was empty. Ganon couldn't kill Link just yet, but that didn't mean he couldn't hurt him.</p>
<p>"I'm not going to spend the duration of our time together following you around like a servile attendant. You can chase invisible ghosts <em>after </em>you stop the moon."</p>
<p>"It wasn't just any ghost, it was a goron ghost!" Tatl yelled.</p>
<p>"I don't care if it was the ghost of his dead mother! You're not supposed to be helping gorons, you're supposed to be finding that giant!"</p>
<p>"You're a goddman idiot, Ganondorf."</p>
<p>Link spoke with the quiet of snowfall, but the ice wrung through his words was near deadly. Ganon pressed the sword more deeply against his small neck, drawing a bold line of blood. He didn't flinch.</p>
<p>"Come again?" He hissed.</p>
<p>The child before him was rigid with steely hatred. It was unnatural to hear the self-assuredness of an adult in his voice, the body he wore nothing but an empty mask.</p>
<p>"Helping the gorons is how we help the giant."</p>
<p>"Ridiculous. You're indulging your hero complex. It's nothing more than ego."</p>
<p>Link's eyes blazed.</p>
<p>"I know what I'm doing. <em>You </em>are wasting my time."</p>
<p>Whatever restraint Ganon had bothered to hold onto immediately vanished. The offense of having such disrespect leveled at him, by his enemy no less, was untenable.</p>
<p>It was only by mercy of the gods that he remembered not to kill him.</p>
<p>Tatl screamed and flew back in horror as Ganon buried his fist in Link’s face, sending him back into the icy wall with enough force to crack the algid surface. His legs buckled but he caught his fall with trembling arms, glaring hatefully and heedless to the blood pouring from what was undoubtedly a broken nose. Ganon didn’t give him a chance to recover. He was tired of putting up with the madness of what his life had become, and Link was the exact person to take it out on.</p>
<p>“You deserve this, you little <em>wretch</em>.” Ganon hissed, grabbing his arm before he could run away.</p>
<p>Link kicked and scratched, but with his size, it was like holding a feral rabbit. Ganon reveled in the ease of it all, swinging the tiny body around and throwing him against a tree. Snow and pine needles rained down on his collapsed form. Link struggled to stand, pulling his shield around to block another punch aimed at his face. Ganon’s knuckles crunched against reinforced metal, but he remained undeterred, kicking him down a small slope as easily as he would a child’s toy.</p>
<p>The hero rolled to a stop, leaving streaks of blood in the snow. Ganon stepped closer and held him down, punching again and again until his struggles weakened and the arms desperately trying to push him away fell limp. Tatl was frantic, screaming at him to stop but never getting close enough to grab. It didn’t matter. Ganon looked down at the bloody excuse for a hero, half-buried in snow and beaten into a barely-conscious state. He grabbed him by the scruff of his tunic, lifting him just enough to sneer in his face.</p>
<p>“<em>Now</em> we can find the giant.”</p>
<p>Link crumpled back into the wintry powder with a muffled thump, a defeated sound that elicited a ringing chord of satisfaction. Ganon stood and walked away, needed to collect himself before picking the brat off the ground and shoving a red potion down his throat so they could continue on. He felt better after the much needed vent, reflecting pleasantly on the eased tension as he rolled cold-stiffened shoulders. Maybe now Link would think twice before running off to chase pointless side-quests.</p>
<p>Ganon took maybe five steps before a spine-crawling scream echoed out from behind him. He spun around, half expecting some sort of wraith, and was immediately flattened by a careening boulder.</p>
<p>The boulder was <em>heavy</em>, and also had fists, which ignited with fire as they rained down on his head.</p>
<p>Bursting confusion muddled his instincts. Ganon soon had enough sense to raise his arms and try protecting his face, but not before his vision was swimming with stars and blood smeared across his skin. Alarm that bordered on panic disoriented him, particularly when he was unable to shove the belligerent rock off his torso. Through the furious attacks, he caught flashes of a familiar green, bewilderment mixing with shock. He tried thrusting his assailant off again, managing to catch them on an upswing and skewing their balance. The boulder—<em>goron—</em>tumbled back, falling into a smooth roll before coming up on their feet, fists rising in the same motion.</p>
<p>Ganon couldn’t quite comprehend what he was seeing.</p>
<p>It was Link, it had to be Link. There was no mistaking the pure hatred burning in those blue eyes, eyes that were now bigger, and rounder, befitting the shape of a massive goron decked out in tattoos and battle-earned adornments. There was also the unmistakable green clothing, unusual for a goron, but for Link—especially that hideous <em>hat</em>—it was practically a damn trademark. Ganon gapped and then staggered back, watching as the goron fell into a roll and began spinning furiously in his direction. For a few seconds he burned friction in place, unable to get traction in the icy snow. The brief lull of false security was broken, however, as smoke and fire kicked up around the goron’s body.</p>
<p>Then there was an almighty bang, and the creature exploded with <em>spikes</em>.</p>
<p>Ganon cursed and dodged, just barely missing the worst of the attack. His hip and leg were hit, two deep gouges carved into skin that sent him falling into the snow. The whirling goron moved fast, impossibly fast, curving all the way around the Mountain Smithy forge and aiming for Ganon’s prone form in a matter of seconds.</p>
<p>He scrambled out of the way, leaving trails of blood. He had nothing to defend himself, left completely to the creature’s mercy, which appeared to be in scant supply. Using a few precious seconds, he looked over to the rumpled pile of snow where Link should be unconscious.</p>
<p>It was empty.</p>
<p>Taking his eyes off the assailing beast had been a mistake. The space between them closed in the second Ganon took to realize the thing attacking him really <em>was </em>Link, and he barreled into him with the clearest intent of murder.</p>
<p>Spikes of stone and whatever else goron’s were made of buried past his light armor as easily as pins into a cushion. Panic burst with the blood that suddenly filled his mouth. Distantly, he registered the pain of punctured organs, lost amidst the chaos of broken bones. A wet cough erupted fire from his chest. He lay crippled in the stinging snow, barely able to twitch a finger. A shadow loomed over his head, blocking the gray clouds above.</p>
<p>Ganon forced his eyes open, glaring past the haze of blood up at the goron standing above him. There was a chilling emptiness to the creatures expression, other than his eyes. They blazed with steeled ferocity as he raised both fists, threading his fingers together in a fiery pendulum aimed directly for his skull. Ganon couldn’t move, eyes widening as he realized this creature—<em>Link</em>—was seconds away from killing him.</p>
<p>“Hey! <em>Hey! </em>What are you—? <em>Stop!”</em></p>
<p>A nasally voice squeezed past the din of blood pounding in his ears.</p>
<p>“<em>Gabora, get out here! We got a crazed goron about to murder some guy!”</em></p>
<p>Link hesitated, turmoil washing into his cold stare as he glanced over to the Mountain Smithy. If Ganon had even a shred of magic left, he could have used the distraction to change their positions and put the tide of battle back in his favor. He wouldn’t have hesitated for a second.</p>
<p>A door banged open in the distance, followed by rushing footsteps that crunched heavily in the snow. Link lowered his fists, but kept them raised enough for a defensive posture, taking a step back. His face was thick with unease now.</p>
<p>“Easy big fella. There’s no need to go killing people now…” Zubora’s voice floated out on the snow, thick with his own fear and anxiety.</p>
<p>Link didn’t know what to do. It was clear in every line of his posture as he squared off against the two blacksmiths. The twitchy kid was too unpredictable for Ganon’s comfort, and loath though he was to admit it, he was in a state of dire vulnerability. Zubora and Gabora were his only chance of surviving. He couldn’t let them leave.</p>
<p>Goddesses be damned, he hated Termina.</p>
<p>“H-help—“</p>
<p>The desperate plea, garbled out through a mouthful of blood, sat like mud in his gut. However, any sentiments of regret evaporated immediately as Link spun around in a lightening quick snap, murder blazing in his eyes once more. He raised both fists high again, devoid of his previous hesitation—</p>
<p>
  <em>“He’s gonna do it! Gabora!”        </em>
</p>
<p>There was a groaning moan of panic followed by earth-trembling footfalls. Zubora’s lumbering partner jumped at Link, knocking him out of Ganon’s sight. Unfortunately, he also clipped the side of Ganon’s head, and the slew of injuries upon his body became too much.</p>
<p>With the suddenness of a snuffed candle flame, everything went black.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Parts of this chapter frustrated me. I hope it was good overall. Not sure when the next update will be. I'm all caught up with what I have written so far. So much for spacing out updates. I have no self control.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“I mean you gotta admit, that’s kind of an unbelievable story.”</p>
<p>Groggy awareness pulled insistently at the mental mire where Ganon rested. Things around him registered slowly. First to come was the notable lack of cold, wet snow clinging to his skin. Instead, a warm delirium shielded him from injuries hovering below the surface, sheltering his memory of how they got there. Someone mumbled beyond the insulating barrier.</p>
<p>“Well how were we supposed to know? From our perspective, it looked like it was the other way around!”</p>
<p>A wordless moan responded.</p>
<p>“Yeah, I gathered that much, ya big gormless loon. I mean, look at the state of them!”</p>
<p>He needed to wake up. There was a conversation going on about him and he could barely lift his head. By force of will, Ganon pushed away the haze of partial consciousness. A full body ache of wounds returned with clarifying viciousness, further catapulting his state of mind into the present. From there, it didn’t take long to remember how he’d sustained such injuries, the memory hitting him like a fresh punch to the gut.</p>
<p>Ganon blinked sluggishly, insistently, taking in dark stained walls that rose up to a soot covered ceiling. A fire burned somewhere, much hotter than mere hearth flame. It tingled at his cold-chapped nostrils with each inhale, smelling of molten ore. He roved his sight around the densely packed Smithy, past the two oblivious, arguing blacksmiths, and soon found who he was looking for.</p>
<p>Link was staring directly at him with a disturbing, unblinking intensity. Ganon had the uneasy feeling he’d been watching him the entire time he was unconscious, like a hunter lying in wait. The hero was rendered to child form once more, wearing an expression that promised a quiet and thorough retribution. Scarcely a square inch of skin was left clear on his face. A brilliant show of purples and blacks complimented the dark look in his eyes, making a rather ominous figure. He continued staring even as Ganon blinked at him, as motionless as the dead. There was something seriously wrong with this kid.</p>
<p>“Oh, you’re awake!” Zubora finally noticed, fiddling with his hands and looking everywhere but at Ganon. “That was faster than expected! Oh no, no, no, don’t try to move yet! You’ll start bleeding internally again! A red potion can only do so much for puncture wounds like that.”</p>
<p>The small man was clearly uneasy with the situation at hand. His partner hovered behind him, staring with more acute perception between Ganon and Link. An uncomfortable silence thickened the hot air in the forge as its manager fumbled uselessly for something to say. Ganon didn’t know how they’d gotten to this point, how he wasn’t dead and Link was still here, human again. As far as he was concerned, the danger hadn’t remotely passed. He had no clue how the kid was able to take on a form like that, but it made him significantly more deadly now.</p>
<p>Link hopped down from the bench he sat on, stumbling once. His eyes narrowed in pain for a brief instant before schooling away, the usual hardness back in place. He looked like he had every intention of leaving.</p>
<p>“Hey, wait, you shouldn’t be moving either-“</p>
<p>Ganon struck out an arm as the smaller boy passed, unexpectedly fast considering his injuries. They ached in response, but he ignored them, squeezing Link’s arm and yanking him closer. The tension in the Smithy immediately doubled.</p>
<p>“<em>Heal me</em>.” Ganon hissed, gripping the smaller limb with nearly enough force to break.</p>
<p>Ice-cold fury radiated from his twin blue orbs, held in a dead-lock gaze with his own red eyes. Link knew what would happen if he abandoned him. The wounds were only temporarily debilitating. He’d be fully healed after the next reset to deliver on his threat against all of Termina. As it was, he suspected the only thing keeping him currently alive was the two unwitting witnesses and Link’s selective guilty conscious. Tatl cowered under a fold in the kid’s tunic, her glow throwing all the bruising on his face into sharp relief. He didn’t flinch when the grip around his arm tightened, speaking with his usual, quiet acrimony.</p>
<p>“I’m going to get a fairy.”</p>
<p>Ganon held his arm for a moment more, penetrating his gaze for any trace of duplicity. When none cold be found, he shoved him away, leaning back down and watching as Link left the now frigid atmosphere of the Smithy.</p>
<p>The door slammed shut behind him. An uncomfortable silence reigned.</p>
<p>“So uh…I take it you two aren’t friends then?” Zubora laughed nervously.</p>
<p>Ganon roved his eyes over slowly, giving him a long, deadpanned stare.</p>
<p>“Thank you for intervening when you did.” He allowed. Stupid comments aside, he wasn’t too proud to recognize the immense favor they did him. If the boy ever went back on their deal, he’d bestow them the mercy of a quick and painless death. For now, he needed them to uncover Link’s secrets. “What happened after I passed out? Where is the goron?”</p>
<p>“Ah, uh…” Zubora looked uncomfortable. “Well, he just went out the door…Did-did you not know he was a kid?”</p>
<p>The man was grappling for a way to excuse the violence of their fight. Evidently Zubora hadn’t seen the part where he pummeled Link in his human form. Ganon would grant him the illusion, provided it garnered enough of their sympathies to keep him sheltered until he could figure out how to handle this new, unexpected twist.</p>
<p>“The goron attacking me was not a child.” He answered vaguely, aiming to stay in their good graces.</p>
<p>“Well no, but when he took his face off, he sure was! The kid’s got some sort of magic mask that changes his shape. Never seen anything like it before…”</p>
<p>Zubora trailed off, leaving Ganon to process this new bit of information. A mask. A goron mask, which surely he’d acquired after following that ghost up the cliff. Ganon couldn’t imagine Link sitting on that kind of power and not using it against him before now. It was just his bitter luck. First a cosmic owl delivers him to a fancy new trinket, and now a desperate ghost decides to grace him with an unnecessary power boost. As if his hold on the brat wasn’t difficult enough to maintain before….</p>
<p>Ganon glared at the ceiling, angry at the forces working against him and the myriad of questions still swirling about his pounding skull. There were things Link wasn’t telling him, things that went beyond harboring dangerous masks. In fact, he didn’t feel he could actually begrudge the little runt for that. He certainly would have done the same. No, the bigger issue was that Link lacked even the barest social ability to work with others. It was largely the reason they’d gotten themselves into this time-wasting mess in the first place.</p>
<p>
  <em>“Helping the gorons is how we help the giant.”</em>
</p>
<p>Ganon scoffed to himself, recalling the ferocity with which Link spoke. He seemed to genuinely believe the two were connected, and perhaps it went beyond his innate compulsion toward heroism. Ganon had to admit, the kid might actually know what he was doing. Suggesting otherwise would be an insult to his own machinations within Hyrule. He wasn’t thwarted by someone with complete incompetence, after all.</p>
<p>Still, the issue remained. Link had no functioning ability to work with others, which was going to lend itself to a whole host of communication errors. Not to mention these mysterious <em>masks</em>. It seemed to be a reoccurring theme in Termina. First Majora, and now a goron? It didn’t strike Ganon as a coincidence that Link just so happened to have the means of calming the restless spirit and could suddenly assume its mortal form through a transformative mask. He recalled him mentioning the strange Happy Mask Salesman, the one who apparently possessed Majora’s mask before this world-scale fiasco, and who’d given Link the means to cure his plight of being a deku scrub.</p>
<p>Who exactly <em>was</em> the Happy Mask Salesman?</p>
<p>More questions without answers. More bizarre characters to hunt down. Ganon felt his head spin, cursing the boy for taking so long. There was little to do but stew in the mess of his situation, feeling the annoying itch of unwelcome burden in the eyes of Zubora. Gabora was a little harder to judge, but he struck Ganon as too perceptive for his own good. The sooner he could leave this Smithy, the better.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>***</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Nearly two hours passed before Link returned. Once he ignored his wary hosts, it was a comfortable enough wait. Aside from the plaguing anxieties about what the kid was up to, of course. Surely it didn’t take this long to find a fairy, not for him, at least. Hell, Link practically <em>was </em>a fairy. Something wasn’t right.</p>
<p>After another tremble went through the forge from the ever descending moon, Ganon had just about reached the limit of his patience. He was a hairs breadth away from deciding to murder Termina early when, naturally, Link decided to finally show up.</p>
<p>“What took you so long?” Ganon growled, talking over Zubora’s weak welcoming platitude.</p>
<p>The small Hero shook snow off his shoulders and cast Ganon a scowl before answering. Tatl hovered quietly behind him.</p>
<p>“I got the fairy from the Southern Swamp. Your mother’s have noticed your absence.”</p>
<p>Of course. He’d taken the opportunity to poke his nose around.</p>
<p>“Don’t insult Twinrova. Those hags are not my mothers.”</p>
<p>“You’ve been in Termina for a very long time.”</p>
<p>“Don’t remind me.”</p>
<p>“How did you get here?”</p>
<p>Ganondorf grabbed the scruff of his tunic and yanked him closer, setting everyone in the Smithy on edge.</p>
<p>“Listen kid, I’m not here to answer your inane questions. You have one job, and one job only. Stick to what you’re good at and stop pestering me.”</p>
<p>“But I’m good at pestering you.” His mouth twisted up into a cynical smile. Ganon was not amused.</p>
<p>“Why do you want me to stop the moon so badly?” He continued needling, incapable of taking a hint. “Kotake says you don’t even like Termina.”</p>
<p>“I like <em>living</em>, you tiny Neanderthal. Now shut up and give me the fairy.”</p>
<p>Link said nothing more, handing the bottle over after a moment of deliberation and simmering with mutiny. He was far from done, but Ganon wouldn’t endure another moment of questions from his prone position on the bench.</p>
<p>The fairy worked its usual wonder. In a matter of seconds he went from nearly debilitated to completely healed. He sat up, ignoring the way Link tensed and backed away. It was deeply gratifying to take in a lungful of air without crippling pain. Link continued to watch him through sharp, careful eyes, hand twitching for a weapon.</p>
<p>“Relax kid, I’m not going to attack you.”</p>
<p>“Not now that you know I can attack back.” He muttered quietly, earning a sharp glare.</p>
<p>Ganon decided to deal with him later, away from witnesses. He turned to Zubora, who seemed to be warring with how to kick them out as quickly as possible.</p>
<p>“We’re leaving now. Thank you for your timely assistance.”</p>
<p>Before they could properly respond (Gabora did not look enthused about letting them leave together), and before Link could somehow make their exit more difficult, Ganon turned on his heel, grabbing the young Hero by the arm and manhandling him out the door. Link went stiff under his grip, but waved with barely convincing amicability to the two smiths. The moment the door closed behind them he spun his head around and bit Ganon’s hand.</p>
<p>“<em>Ow! You little—!</em>”</p>
<p>Link jumped away, pulling out what could only be the transformative goron mask. It looked like a potato with a face. Ganon stilled himself, reigning in his temper.</p>
<p>“So that’s the mask.” He said coolly, fists clenched by his sides.</p>
<p>Link glanced at the restrained violence, keeping his own stance hostile. It took a concentrated force of will to reflect on the rapidly spiraling situation. At this rate they were going to repeat the events of this morning in a matter of seconds, and something told Ganon the smiths wouldn’t be so charitable a second time.</p>
<p>“We’re going to need to call a truce if we’re ever going to stop Majora.”</p>
<p>“But <em>you</em> were the one who attacked—!” Tatl immediately jumped in between them, tinkling angrily.</p>
<p>Link jumped up and caught her with both hands, holding her close with pacifying whispers.</p>
<p>“Agreed.” He muttered, looking up and meeting Ganon’s stare. Tatl yelled something angrily from his hands.</p>
<p>Ganon doubted he could get the kid to relinquish the mask. Not willingly, at least. Time spent wasted on managing that issue was time wasted stopping the moon. Petty squabbles would only hinder their progress, and get in the way of finding out how to use Link to escape Termina. Speaking of…</p>
<p>“Who is the Happy Mask Salesman?”</p>
<p>Link blinked, his face shifting to guarded confusion. He relaxed his stance by a fraction.</p>
<p>“We already went through this.”</p>
<p>“Yes, and I’d like to go through it <em>again</em>.” Goddesses above, he was annoying. “Is there anything else you know about him? Has it occurred to you that he might not be so benign a figure, having been in possession of a powerful relic such as the demon mask we’re fighting?”</p>
<p>The small hero stared at him evenly.</p>
<p>“He used to run a mask shop in Castle Town. I don’t think he’s an enemy.”</p>
<p>“Well as <em>invaluable </em>as your input is, I’m not convinced. There’s more to him than he’s revealing.”</p>
<p>“Probably.” Link rolled his eyes. “But he’s not trying to kill us or destroy the world. We have bigger issues.”</p>
<p>As much as Ganon hated to admit it, the little runt was right. He couldn’t continue to investigate the Happy Mask Salesman without looking suspicious.</p>
<p>“Fine. Then I suppose you want to go play Hero and help the Gorons now?”</p>
<p>“Yes.”</p>
<p>“And you’re certain this will lead us to the giant?”</p>
<p>“Yes.”</p>
<p>Link continued looking marginally more relaxed as it became clear Ganon wasn’t going to fight him on this anymore, but the once-Gerudo King couldn’t have him getting too comfortable yet.</p>
<p>“Then we’ll do things your way, for now. But if we’re going to avoid unnecessary conflicts between us, you’re going to have to figure out how to use that broken little voice of yours better. I’m not one of your doting fairy companions happy to mindlessly follow you around.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, you’re much more high maintenance than a fairy.”</p>
<p>Ganon stopped, slightly stupefied. Link smirked.</p>
<p>“You audacious little <em>brat</em>, you realize I could snap your tiny body in half, don’t you?”</p>
<p>“And I can collapse your skull with one punch. Are we still calling a truce?”</p>
<p>Ganon gritted his teeth, seeing red. Link looked entirely too satisfied with himself. The only thing that stayed his hand was the dangerous look of murder itching behind his cold, blue eyes. And the mask that was held tight in his hand.</p>
<p>“You can only hold your own against me because of that <em>mask. </em>You’re <em>nothing </em>without your pathetic <em>toys</em>.” Ganon spat.</p>
<p>Link said nothing, but the look of eager combativeness gave away the violence stewing inside. He was looking for a fight, trying to break Ganon’s control. The larger man clenched his fists, tempering his anger. He refused to be played by this child-sized tool.</p>
<p>“Are you guys gonna try to kill each other again? Cause I’m having some serious doubts about you two being able to work together.”</p>
<p>Tatl interrupted the ever thickening tension, creating a break in their rising antagonism. Link held onto his glare for a moment longer, and then a trickle of something close to weariness settled in. He gave a near ancient sigh, relaxing stiffened shoulders.</p>
<p>“…Let’s just get on with it.” He muttered, and then he put on the mask.</p>
<p>Ganon jumped back with a loud curse, immediately grabbing a discarded crowbar left amidst a pile of junk on the Smithy’s porch. The same spine-crawling scream echoed over the lonely mountain. With it came the sound of crunching bones and an awful blinding light, like a flash explosion. It all returned Ganon to the danger of his first transformation. He raised the crowbar high, intending to get in the first hit this time.</p>
<p>“Whoa, whoa, what are you doing!?” Tatl yelled, flying in erratic zig-zags around him.</p>
<p>“Trying not to die, you inane fairy! What does it look like?” Ganon roared, swatting her away.</p>
<p>Link—who was now a massive rock creature that could likely snap the crowbar in half—turned to the two with a wildly unimpressed expression. Ganon was a little blindsided by the imposing figure he all-of-a-sudden posed, but tried to keep the unease schooled away.</p>
<p>“I need to get use to this body. Relax, I’m not going to attack you.”</p>
<p>There was a thread of dark humor in his strange, bulbous voice as he repeated Ganon’s words back to him. Despite what he said, he cracked his huge knuckles, the sound of crunching rocks coming out.</p>
<p>“You could have warned me.” Ganon hissed. This is <em>exactly </em>what he’d been talking about. Link was a clueless idiot.</p>
<p>“Fine. I’m going to practice using this body as we head to the Goron Village. Don’t attack me.”</p>
<p>Without another word, he fell into a ball with enough force to make the ground tremble, rolling away to weave among the surrounding trees. Ganon watched for a bitter moment, growing more angry as he watched the enlarged terror become more adept at managing the bulk of his Goron form. With a scoff, he turned and marched away from the Smithy, heading to Goron Village at his own pace. He had no desire to watch Link become a greater threat to him.</p>
<p>The heavy snow fall swallowed all sound as he trudged through the mountain path. Finally alone, he felt able to relax some of the tension in his shoulders, though of course it never went far. He was always furious to some degree or another. Still, Snowhead offered a semblance of relief, even as it spat pathetic monsters at him. It was gratifying to crush them under his boots.</p>
<p>Link was exhausting in every way possible. He wanted nothing more than to be rid of him, but this damned world kept them tied together more thoroughly than the Triforce ever had. It was a cruel joke. He could only hope his way out of Termina somehow involved Link’s demise, and if it didn’t, well he’d make sure that it would.</p>
<p>His brief peace from the eternal thorn in his side was soon broken, heralded by an every increasing rumbling sound that soon grew into a modest roar. Ganon refused to turn around, knowing that lumbering potato was coming up behind him. It was only slightly alarming when he shot past, rolling off the edge of a small island and landing on the frozen lake below.</p>
<p>Ganon watched critically as he began to spin on the ice, a squeal of friction shattering the quiet mountain air. He knew what was coming next. A loud bang ricocheted off the surrounding stone and suddenly Link was a careening ball of death, constructed of fire and spikes. He blew through mounds of snow, plowing into the monsters that lied in wait and killing them instantly. Ganon could only stand to watch for a moment more, feeling his wrath build again with each passing second.</p>
<p>It was entirely unfair that Link was tripping his way into a myriad of tools to use against him.</p>
<p>Ganon stomped on, cutting a wolfos in half as he walked. The rolling goron continued to antagonize his ire merely by existing until he stopped, finally hitting something he couldn’t just smash through.</p>
<p>A warbling yell of pain echoed after a muffled crash. Ganon spun around in time to see Link sitting on the icy ground, rubbing his head in front of a massive frozen goron. The being inside looked absolutely ancient. Ganon was feeling just petty enough to enjoy the sight of Link’s head pain before he joined him by the ice sculpture. Tatl flew around obnoxiously.</p>
<p>“He’s just like that other frozen Goron! Do you have any of that hot spring water?”</p>
<p>In response, Link dropped to the ground and began to roll away, so evidently not. Shockingly, however, he suddenly paused, unraveling and slowly turning around to face Ganon with a grumpy and wary expression.</p>
<p>“…I’m going to get hot spring water.”</p>
<p>By Din’s fire, the boy was capable of learning after all. It almost made Ganon feel proud.</p>
<p>“Thank you.” He replied patronizingly, over-inclining his head to the scowling goron. Link huffed in response, falling into a roll once more and disappearing into the snowy gloom.</p>
<p>Ganon decided to celebrate with a pipe, feeling oddly satisfied that Link was showing progress on communication so quickly. Perhaps he wasn’t as stupid as he thought.</p>
<p>It didn’t take long for Link to return. His speed was greatly enhanced by the ability to roll through the snow with extra spikes for traction. In less than twenty minutes he was back, fishing a bottle from his pack as he waddled closer to the ancient goron. Ganon strongly suspected the creature inside was dead, but knew Link wouldn’t listen to such reason. Instead he remained quiet, watching the hero at work as he puffed on his pipe. He noticed Link staring at him.</p>
<p>“What?” he snapped, raising an eye brow.</p>
<p>The boy-man-goron-thing said nothing, scowl ever deepening before turning back to the ice sculpture. He dumped the water out at the base. Miraculously, it melted the mound of frozen water encasing the ancient goron. Even more miraculously, the goron was alive. But just barely.</p>
<p>“OooOOOoOOoooOooo”</p>
<p>The creature moaned dramatically, wobbling on his tiny feet as the support of the ice melted away. Link immediately reached out to stabilize him, open concern on his face. The elder blinked sluggishly and moaned again, looking up at him.</p>
<p>“D-Darmani!?” he cowed, reaching out with a shaking, fragile arm. “Darmani, is it really you?”</p>
<p>Link looked uncomfortable, but nodded.</p>
<p>“Oh Darmani, where have you been? Where have you been?” The anguish in the old goron’s voice was palpable. “We have missed you so much, and the <em>snow</em>…it will not cease…What happened to you? Did you slay the beast causing this destruction?”</p>
<p>Link shook his head. The elder did the rest of the talking for him. Typical. They weren’t so different from Gerudo elders in that regard.</p>
<p>“Oh Darmani…what are we to do?…I came out into this blizzard to find you, and now…” he trailed off hopelessly, seeming to forget his train of thought in the lull of silence. “…my son has missed you terribly…We all thought the worse…Will you seek to defeat the beast again?”</p>
<p>Link nodded fervently, of course. He didn’t ask more questions about this strange beast. It sounded promising, so Ganon cut in for more information.</p>
<p>“Where can we find this beast?”</p>
<p>The elder stumbled, as though just realizing the large Gerudo man were standing right next to “Darmani”. He blinked slowly up at him, his beady black eyes small and cloudy. He turned back to Darmani, completely ignoring his question.</p>
<p>“Ah…you have found an apprentice to aid you…wise choice, my boy, the beast is most fierce…”</p>
<p>Link chortled, a strange sound coming from his goron body. Ganon resisted the urge to kick him on his back.</p>
<p>“Here…” He pulled out a tiny drum, from where, Ganon didn’t want to know. “Play this song for my boy before you go…it’s his lullaby…I’m sure he needs to hear it…in these trying times…”</p>
<p>With the frailty of kindling, he began to beat on the drum head. It made a muffled, high thump, slowly forming a simple melody. He play three notes and then stopped.</p>
<p>“Hmm…”</p>
<p>He played the same three notes, and then stopped.</p>
<p>“…Perhaps…hmmm…”</p>
<p>He play the same three notes <em>again</em>, and Ganon stepped forward to try beating his memory into better working order. Link immediately held out a massive hand to stop him.</p>
<p>“Oooooh, I can only remember the beginning…curse this aging mind…” The elder shook his head woefully, long dry hair dusting across his weathered, rocky skin. “I will return to the mother mountain soon enough…please take this melody to my son…he will surely remember the rest.”</p>
<p>The old man looked up to Link expectantly. Without the slightest hesitation, Link pulled out a massive drum set from <em>goddesses know where </em>and began to play the three note melody back. Ganon felt his eye twitch.</p>
<p>“Thank you Darmani…may you find victory…and save our people…as your ancestors before you…”</p>
<p>His words, growing softer and softer, puttered off. A low snore rose into the air. Unbelievably, he was asleep.</p>
<p>“Should…should we just leave him here?” Tatl asked awkwardly.</p>
<p>“I’m sure he’ll be fine.” Ganon replied flatly, turning away to the goron village.</p>
<p>Someone there would know more about this mysterious beast, which likely had a connection to the mountain giant. It was annoying that Link had been right about helping the gorons. Ganon tried not to think about it too much, and Link didn’t seem to be in a mood to gloat. He was still looking at the elder with concern.</p>
<p>“Hey, kid, lets go. If you save the mountain giant, you’ll save him. He’ll be <em>fine</em>.”</p>
<p>Link definitely didn’t believe him, but there was little else to be done. He turned reluctantly and began ambling after Ganon, heading to the Goron village. His walking pace was painfully slow.</p>
<p>“If you walk any slower the moon is going to destroy us all before we reach the village.”</p>
<p>Link responded with a sudden and heavy fall to the ground, clipping his side as he rolled past Ganon and out of sight. Ganon stumbled, adding it to the list of grievances to make him pay for later.</p>
<p>When he arrived to Goron Village a short while later, Link was standing perfectly still in the middle of a sloping walkway, seeming to wait for something. Ganon gave him an unimpressed look, wandering closer. A low rumbling was echoing over the snow. From around the corner, the massive snowball came rolling, aiming directly for Link once more. He reared back a flame-consumed fist, punching the snow at just the right moment.</p>
<p>What Ganon thought was a petty venting behavior turned out to be more calculated. A goron, once nestled inside, jumped out of the snowball and slammed into the ground with a groan. As Ganon approached the strange creature, he caught the tail end of when he was saying.</p>
<p>“Hurry in! I gotta close the door behind you to keep the cold out!”</p>
<p>Then the goron fell into a ball and somehow catapulted himself directly into the air, coming down with a ground-shuddering slam. Nearby, a stone doorway rose, revealing an entry into the bowels of the village. Link glanced at him briefly and ambled over, entering without a backwards glance.</p>
<p>Inside the stone structure, the air was almost as cold as the outside. At least half of the village was huddled together, shivering and shaking and looking generally miserable. No fires were lit, no food could be seen. At this rate, if the cold didn’t kill the gorons, starvation would. Although they could last a pretty long time without their special rock food. Ganon knew that from experience.</p>
<p>The most obvious, and most <em>annoying</em>, feature of the dying village was the unholy caterwauling of a baby. The piercing sound was amplified by stone walls, echoing off every surface until it was completely inescapable. It was evidenced by the surrounding gorons who had their hands pressed over their ears that even they were vexed by the sound.</p>
<p>“Jeez, someone get that kid a bottle.” Tatl muttered.</p>
<p>Ganon only heard her because she was floating uncommonly close. Link looked around with a frown on his face, soon finding a curved path that lead up to a high loft. The crying was loudest in that direction.</p>
<p>By the time they reached the top, Ganon wanted to press his hands over his ears too. He could think of so many ways to silence the annoying creature, but Link would get himself worked up into a fit if he tried to kill the potato child, so he kept his weapons sheathed. Link lumbered into what could only be the Chief’s room, perhaps belonging to the dead goron whose body he wore. No one noticed them enter, too busy squeezing their ears and eyes shut to the unending misery around them.</p>
<p>The child was there in the center, seated upon a large stone throne. Fat tears poured down his oddly fleshy looking face. A curly tuft of hair was damp with sweat, having cried himself into a near inconsolable state. He was obviously very young, wearing what must have been a diaper. This could only be the elder’s son, but he was…significantly younger than expected.</p>
<p>“Would you play that damn song?” Ganon yelled, pushing Link closer.</p>
<p>The hero stumbled, looking oddly unsure of himself. It seemed the child hero didn’t quite know what to do when confronted with an actual child, which would have been amusing if the creature’s screams weren’t so grating. He pulled out his drum set, tentatively playing the first three notes of the elder’s lullaby.</p>
<p>The effect was instantaneous.</p>
<p>The baby stopped crying, hiccupping and whining miserably. Link played the same three notes again. The child’s tears slowed down, but his eyes were still sealed tight with moisture and discharge. Link played the same three notes, even less sure of himself this time.</p>
<p>“L-like this…L-like t-this…” The child warbled, blindly grabbing a tiny drum that had fallen over beside him.</p>
<p>He played the rest of the song, and Ganon had to urge Link to pick up where he left off and repeat the lullaby again.</p>
<p>“Play it again, fool, haven’t you ever heard a lullaby?”</p>
<p>Link’s face pinched, but he said nothing, of course. He was at least good at following orders, playing the lullaby again and gaining confidence as the baby responded positively. An admittedly pleasant and calming rhythm replaced the horrible crying. The child sniffled, playing through the song a few more times before he felt calm enough to stop and rub his eyes dry. Link looked relieved, but not for long.</p>
<p>When the child opened his large watery eyes, shock and recognition widened them farther.</p>
<p>“Unca’ Darmi! You’re back!”</p>
<p>The child then launched himself at Link, who caught him only on instinct, holding him out like he was a feral animal. Ganon smacked a hand to his forehead. The child blinked in confusion at the cold treatment, wiggling and clearly wanting to get closer. Of course gorons would be the touchy-feely sort when comforting their young, while Link was generally allergic to all forms of physical contact. The stupefied hero didn’t move.</p>
<p>“<em>Hug him.</em>” Ganon hissed.</p>
<p>With halting moments, he brought the child closer. It was the most awkward hug Ganon had ever witnessed. The child was not impressed.</p>
<p>“Unca’ Darmi? What’s wrong with you?”</p>
<p>For fucks sake, at this rate Link was going to ruin their chance at finding out the information they needed. The other gorons were starting to rouse from their sound-befuddled state, blinking at Link in growing shock and delight.</p>
<p>“Sorry kid, he’s just concussed from the fight with that mountain beast. Got hit on the head a few too many times.” Ganon leaned in, trying to smooth it over. Link looked at him like he really <em>had </em>gotten hit too many times on the head.</p>
<p>“Oh, you mean Ghot! Did you use your fire punch and beat him, Darmi? Did you?”</p>
<p>“No.” Ganon answered for him, grateful when Link set the child down instead of continuing to hold him like he carried a highly contagious disease. “Unfortunately not, but he’s going to try again.”</p>
<p>“Who’re you?” The tiny child frowned, sticking a finger in his mouth.</p>
<p>“I’m a friend of your father’s.” Ganon scrabbled for the sort of placating nonsense young children ate up. “He heard about you crying for him. He sent us to remind you of your role now. You’re the leader here while Darmani and your father are away. You can’t be crying all the time, not when there’s a crisis. It’s time to grow up.”</p>
<p>The young goron blinked at him. Link slowly turned and looked at him like he had three heads.</p>
<p>“…You know my Daddy?”</p>
<p>“I do.” Ganon nodded, crossing his arms and barreling past that lie before the kid could try to question him on it. “And he expects better of you. You have to stand strong, be a hero like…Darmani.”</p>
<p>Ganon gestured vaguely at Link, losing the steam to keep up his insipid pep talk when it involved the bane of his existence. He wasn’t sure who was looking at him with greater shock, Link or the potato child. The youngest recovered first.</p>
<p>The boy stood and sniffed, rubbing the last of his tears away.</p>
<p>“You’re right, Mister. That’s exactly what my daddy would say.” He strengthened his posture, trying to put on a brave face. Perhaps a goron would have thought it was cute.</p>
<p>“Good to hear.” Ganon turned, addressing the deeply grateful cluster of gorons in the room, many of whom were still staring at Link with wonder. “Now can anyone tell us where to find this Ghot creature?”</p>
<p>“Is that <em>Darmani</em>?”</p>
<p>Ganon glared at them all. Why was it only goron children who bothered to listen to him? Everything about this village was awful.</p>
<p>Several conversations and awkward explanations later, Ganon managed to pull Link away from his adoring fans and garner enough details about Ghot to have a decent heading. By the time they emerged from the stone hall, night was settling in. The gorons had tried valiantly to get them to stay, but like hell was Ganon going to spend the night on an ice cold rock bed. Luckily, his unwanted companion seemed to be on the same page. They couldn’t manage to get away without one of them shoving some unappetizing grey mass called Rock Sirloin at ‘Darmani’.</p>
<p>Alone and surrounded by nothing but snow, Link took off the mask. It sounded like he was trying to extract someone’s spirit from his soul with a melon baller. The sorcerer in Ganon briefly wondered what magic was at work in the transformative mask. It was no small matter to contain an active spirit in an inanimate object, even less so when the object functioned as a direct doorway into the wearer’s own soul, but Link didn’t look particularly concerned. He was probably too ignorant to know the danger, or perhaps his blessings from the Goddesses shielded him from the consequences of soul-melding. Regardless, he looked pale, and somehow smaller when the mask came off, but only moderately disconnected from reality as he fiddled with the magic in his hands. There was something else on his mind. He cast a curious glance up at Ganon.</p>
<p>“You’re a liar. And…really good with kids.”</p>
<p>Ah. That’s what this was about. The dear hero couldn’t handle Ganon being more than a one-dimensional villain.</p>
<p>“That’s because I have <em>many </em>children. You, however, are <em>terrible </em>with them. It’s painfully obvious you were raised by a tree.”</p>
<p>“You have <em>children</em>?” Link gapped, looking horrified.</p>
<p>“Of course I do, you ignorant dirt clod. I was once the king of a great tribe and the only male of my people. The vitality of the Gerudo was one of my most important responsibilities.”</p>
<p>“…What happened to them? To your children?”</p>
<p>“Do you mean before or after you ran a sword through my head?” Ganon turned a blazing glare down to him, feeling the old rage rear threateningly.</p>
<p>Link met his anger without an ounce of fear, his eyes entirely too shadowed for a young boy. He was no child.</p>
<p>“I mean after you went on your power-hungry rampage and tried to take that which was not yours.”</p>
<p>“Who are you to say what is mine and what is not?” Ganon hissed, getting in Link’s face.</p>
<p>Before things could escalate further, as they were undoubtedly about to, Tatl bravely wedged herself in-between their snarling faces.</p>
<p>“Okay, <em>stop</em>! Chill out! You two are <em>not </em>going to have another death match on this mountain. There are bigger things to worry about here!”</p>
<p>Link twitched. He seemed to be doubting the veracity of her words as much as Ganon. Tatl flew closer to her companion, tiny hands pressing up on his dirtied cheeks.</p>
<p>“Come on, Link, save it for Ghot! You two can kill each other after the Skullkid is stopped, okay? Let’s just get to Clock Town. It’s <em>cold</em>.”</p>
<p>Neither could doubt the reasonableness of that statement. With the sun having sunk below the horizon, the temperature was starting to creep well below freezing. Ganon hadn’t noticed his breath frosting on the air.</p>
<p>Link huffed and pulled away, extracting his ocarina with the characteristic scowl on his features. Ganon begrudgingly placed a hand on his shoulder. It was so tense he might as well have been stone.</p>
<p>Without a word, he played through the Song of Soaring, each note plucking at threads of magic that were wholly denied to Ganon. The bitterness of it all settled more firmly than the snowfall of the mountain, leaving his anger cold and raw.</p>
<p>He would absolutely be killing the brat as soon as he was done with him.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Finally got this chapter done. I feel like it dragged in a couple places, but oh well. Writing fanfiction around raising two small children and obnoxious plaguing anxieties about "wasting time on cringy hobbies" is fucking exhausting. </p>
<p>...I like writing fanfiction, goddammit.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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